Can't claim both FMLA and UI at same time - how to handle weekly claims during paternity leave?
I'm in a confusing situation with unemployment and FMLA. My brother-in-law just got laid off from his tech job (last day was June 3, 2025), but he's currently using his remaining 40 hours of paternity leave (FMLA). He already applied for unemployment benefits but knows he can't claim both at the same time. The problem is, he needs to file weekly claims to keep his UI claim active, but can't claim UI while receiving FMLA pay. Does anyone know: 1. Is there a way to submit weekly claims but indicate he's on FMLA for part of the week? 2. Should he just wait until his FMLA is completely used up before filing any weekly claims, even though his initial UI application is already approved? 3. Will his claim get messed up if he doesn't file for a week or two while on FMLA? We've been trying to call ESD for days but can't get through to anyone who can help. The website doesn't seem to have clear info about this specific situation. Has anyone dealt with something similar?
18 comments
Ezra Beard
Your brother-in-law should still file his weekly claims but report the FMLA hours as "hours worked" and report the FMLA pay as wages earned for those weeks. ESD will then calculate a partial or zero benefit for those weeks depending on how much he was paid, but his claim will stay active. The important thing is to NOT miss filing weekly claims - even if he gets $0 for a particular week, missing a week can cause bigger issues with his claim later. When entering the information, he should use the comment section to explain that the hours/earnings were from FMLA paternity leave.
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Tobias Lancaster
•Thank you so much for this clear explanation! So he needs to count FMLA as "hours worked" even though he's technically not working but on leave? That seems counterintuitive but if that's what ESD wants, we'll do it that way. Do you know if there's any documentation we should save just in case there are questions later?
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Statiia Aarssizan
I had something similar happen last year with short-term disability pay overlapping with my UI claim. I reported the STD payment as income on my weekly claim and put 0 for hours worked (since I wasn't working). ESD reduced my benefit that week but my claim stayed active. For FMLA specifically, if he's getting paid by his employer for those 40 hours, he needs to report that amount. If it's unpaid FMLA, then there's nothing to report for those days. Definitely don't skip filing the weekly claims! That can mess up your whole claim and you might have to restart the application process.
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Tobias Lancaster
•This is getting confusing! The previous commenter said to report FMLA hours as "hours worked" but you're saying to put 0 for hours. I wonder if it depends on whether it's paid vs unpaid FMLA? In his case, he's getting paid for those 40 hours from his employer's paternity leave policy.
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Reginald Blackwell
whoevers telling u to put 0 hours is WRONG! i did that and got hit with an overpayment notice for $2100 later. always report ANY paid time as hours worked + earnings even if ur not actually "working" in the traditional sense. dont make my mistake!!!
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Statiia Aarssizan
•You're right - I should have been more clear. For paid leave, you should report both the earnings AND the hours. For unpaid leave, there's nothing to report. Thanks for the correction!
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Aria Khan
Have you tried using Claimyr to get through to an ESD agent? I was in a similar situation last month and couldn't get through on the regular line for days. I found this service at claimyr.com that got me connected to ESD in about 25 minutes. They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. Definitely worth it because this is the kind of situation where getting official clarification from ESD directly is really important.
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Tobias Lancaster
•I'd never heard of that before! If we can't figure this out based on the advice here, we might try that. Getting a definitive answer from ESD would be best since there seems to be some confusion about exactly how to handle this.
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Everett Tutum
fmla is protected leave but doesnt mean its paid. is he getting paid for the time or just taking protected time off? big difference for ui reporting
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Tobias Lancaster
•Good question! He's getting paid through his company's paternity leave policy. The HR dept calls it FMLA but it's definitely paid time.
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Everett Tutum
•then ya gotta report the $$$ and hours. doesnt matter what they call it, if money comes in during ui weeks it has to be reported
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Sunny Wang
I work in HR and deal with this frequently. Here's the technically correct way to handle this: 1. File weekly claims ON TIME (this is critical) 2. Report ALL pay received during the week (including FMLA pay) 3. Report the hours that the pay represents (40 hours in your case) 4. In the comments section, note that the earnings were from paternity leave ESD may deny benefits for that week or reduce them based on the income, but your claim stays active. Once the FMLA pay ends, his regular unemployment benefits will resume automatically on the next weekly claim (assuming he meets all other eligibility requirements). Also make sure he's tracking his job search activities for any week he wants to receive benefits - even partial weeks.
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Tobias Lancaster
•Thank you for such a detailed explanation! This makes perfect sense. I'll tell him to make sure he's documenting everything clearly in case there are questions later. And good reminder about the job search activities - he's already starting to look but wasn't sure if he needed to document those activities during the FMLA period.
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Hugh Intensity
When I had jury duty during my unemployment period, I had to report that money as earnings even though it wasn't "work." I think the FMLA pay would be similar - any money you receive during an unemployment claim period has to be reported, even if it's not from actual work. The system isn't great at handling these special cases!
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Ezra Beard
Just to clarify my earlier response - yes, if it's PAID leave, he needs to report both the hours and the pay. The system is designed to track both how much money you receive and how many hours you were compensated for. One other thing to be aware of: if his final paycheck includes the FMLA pay, he'll need to report that on his weekly claim for the week in which he receives it (not when it was earned). ESD cares about when money is received, not when it was earned.
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Tobias Lancaster
•Thanks for the clarification! That makes sense. And good point about when the money is actually received vs. earned - I'll make sure he understands that too. This system really isn't intuitive at all.
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Effie Alexander
i think everyones overcomplicating this lol. just be honest on ur claims and youll be fine! report any money u get, skip reporting for weeks ur fully employed (or fully on paid leave) and resume reporting when ur not getting any other money. ESD isnt trying to trick u, just be straightforward
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Sunny Wang
•DO NOT skip filing weekly claims! That's incorrect advice that could cause major problems. Even if you receive $0 in benefits for a week due to other income, you must still file your weekly claim to keep your claim active. If you skip filing, your claim may be closed and you'd have to reapply.
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