Will partial work days mess up my EDD benefits? Confused about reporting earnings

Working part-time while on unemployment is completely fine! When you certify, you'll report your gross earnings (before taxes) for the week. EDD uses a formula where the first $25 or 25% of your earnings (whichever is higher) doesn't count against your benefits. Then the remainder is subtracted from your weekly benefit amount. So with $450 weekly benefit and $380 in earnings: - First $95 (25% of $380) doesn't count - Remaining $285 is subtracted from $450 - You'd receive approximately $165 in UI benefits for that week Make sure to report your earnings for the week you WORK, not when you get paid. And always report gross earnings (before taxes).

i was in teh same situation last month. you definetly want to take the work!!! you end up with MORE money total when you combine the partial UI + work then just UI alone. just make sure u report exactly when u worked not when u get paid.

Be extremely careful with reporting your earnings. Always report your GROSS wages (before any deductions) for the week you perform the work, even if you don't get paid until later. When you certify, you'll answer "yes" to the question about working, then enter the days worked and gross earnings. The EDD formula is: 1. They subtract 25% of your earnings from your total earnings 2. They subtract that amount from your weekly benefit With $450 weekly benefit and $380 earnings: - $380 - $95 (25% of earnings) = $285 - $450 - $285 = $165 in benefits for that week So you'd make $380 from work + $165 from UI = $545 total for the week, which is better than just the $450 from UI alone. If you work full-time one week, you'll report that and receive $0 for that week, but your claim stays open and you can collect benefits again when your work hours reduce. Just keep certifying every two weeks even if you work full-time occasionally.

When i was on unemployment last year i worked like 3 days a week sometimes and other times none. it was a huge pain trying to get anyone at EDD on the phone when i had questions about reporting!!! kept getting the stupid "we're experiencing high call volume" message for days!!! so frustrating!!

I think ur overthinking this. Just report ur earnings honestly and the system figures it out. I worked on and off during my whole claim last year and it was fine. The only annoying part is when u work just enough that ur UI payment is like $12 lol happened to me once.

One more important thing: if you work full-time hours in a week (40+ hours), regardless of how much you earn, EDD typically considers you fully employed for that week and you won't receive benefits. But as others have said, your claim stays open and you can receive benefits in future weeks when you work reduced hours again. Also, make sure you're still doing your required work search activities for any week you're claiming benefits, even partial benefits. You need to log at least 3 work search activities per week unless you have a work search exemption.

BE CAREFUL!!! When you certify, they'll ask if you refused any work. If your boss offered you full-time work and you turned it down to stay on unemployment, that could make you ineligible for benefits!!! EDD takes this VERY seriously!

Just to clarify on work search requirements: When you work part-time in a week and claim partial benefits, you still need to meet your work search requirements. However, each day you work can count as a work search activity. So if you work 2 days in a week, you'd only need 1 additional work search activity to meet the minimum of 3. And regarding the earlier comment about refusing work: Your commenter is correct that refusing suitable work can disqualify you. However, if your employer is only offering occasional days here and there (not permanent regular work), it's generally fine to accept or decline these individual days without affecting your eligibility. Just don't refuse an offer to return to your regular position.

Wait has anyone mentioned that you need to report your earnings when you WORK not when you get PAID?? This is super important and trips up so many people! If you work on Thursday but don't get paid until the following Friday, you still report those earnings for the week you did the actual work.

After reading all the advice here, I would definitely recommend taking the work. Just make sure you: 1. Report your gross earnings for the week you WORKED (not when paid) 2. Continue doing your work search activities (working days count toward this) 3. Keep certifying every two weeks even if you have a week of full-time work The formula others explained is correct - you'll actually come out ahead financially by working part-time. Plus, maintaining a connection with your former employer could lead to full-time work again.

Great thread! Just wanted to add one more tip from my experience - when you're working part-time while on UI, it's really helpful to keep detailed records of your work days and earnings. I made a simple spreadsheet with dates worked, hours, and gross pay. This made certifying so much easier and helped me catch a mistake I almost made where I reported earnings for the wrong week. Also, if you ever get audited or have questions later, having everything documented saves you a lot of headaches. Good luck with the work - sounds like you've got all the info you need to handle it properly!

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is what happens if you work irregular hours across the two-week certification period. For example, if you work 3 days one week and 1 day the next week, you'll need to report earnings separately for each week when you certify. EDD calculates benefits on a weekly basis, not bi-weekly, so each week gets its own calculation using the formula others described. This was confusing for me at first because I thought I had to average my earnings across both weeks, but that's not how it works. Each week stands alone in terms of how much you worked and earned, which then determines your benefit amount for that specific week.