Will exceeding my weekly benefit amount kick me off EDD unemployment? Part-time on-call worker confusion

Don't worry, you won't lose your claim by reporting excessive earnings for a couple weeks! Your claim remains active for the entire benefit year (until June 2025). When you certify and report earnings that exceed your weekly benefit amount, you'll simply receive $0 for those weeks, but your claim stays open. When your hours drop again, just continue certifying as normal and report your reduced/zero earnings. As long as you're still certifying every two weeks (even when reporting full earnings), your claim remains active. You won't need to reapply unless your benefit year expires.

i was in this EXACT situation last year!!!! worked on-call security and would somtimes get 0 hours then random 12 hour shifts. reporting the big earning weeks didn't mess up my claim at all, just got $0 those weeks. keep certifying!!!!!

While the others are correct that reporting excess earnings won't close your claim, be careful about how you answer the certification questions during those weeks. When you report earnings that exceed your WBA: 1. Still answer "Yes" to "Were you able and available for work?" 2. Answer "No" to "Did you refuse any work?" 3. Report ALL hours and wages accurately 4. Continue to look for full-time work and document your work search efforts If you stop certifying for several weeks, your claim could go inactive and require reactivation (not a full reapplication but an extra step).

The EDD system is DESIGNED to trap people like us with variable schedules!!! I had almost identical situation last year and they ended up reviewing my claim and hitting me with a false statement penalty because they said I should have reported being "unavailable" on days I worked more than 8 hours. Complete BS! They're looking for ANY excuse to deny benefits to gig workers.

If you're having trouble getting clear answers from EDD about your specific situation, I'd recommend using Claimyr to connect with an EDD representative. I was in a similar situation with irregular work hours and needed clarification on certification questions. Regular phone lines were impossible, but Claimyr got me through to a specialist in about 20 minutes who explained exactly how to handle my variable schedule certifications. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km that shows how it works. Definitely worth it for peace of mind and clear answers directly from EDD.

The amount you earn each week affects your weekly benefit. If you earn too much, you won't get benefits that week but you're still on unemployment. Keep certifying!!

when i had a week where i made more than my benefit amount i just didnt certify for that period cuz i knew i wouldnt get paid and nothing happened my claim stayed active this was back in january

My cousin works catering and has same issue with random schedules. She said the rule is if u dont certify for 2 consecutive certification periods (so 4 weeks total) then ur claim becomes inactive. But if u just have 2 weeks of high earnings its fine as long as u keep doing the certifications every 2 weeks.