ESD claim question - fired after giving notice to start new job, what termination reason to select?

You should select "discharged" since that's technically what happened. When you quit and give notice, but your employer terminates you before your notice period ends, ESD considers that a discharge/termination, not a voluntary quit. Make sure you explain the situation exactly as it happened in any questionnaires they send you. You should qualify for the gap period since you were terminated before your intended end date.

this happened to me last year and i put discharged. they sent me a fact finding form to fill out and i had to explain the whole thing. i got approved but it took like 3 weeks cause they had to do adjudication first. my old boss told them i was terminated for insubordination lol

Select 'discharged' and be prepared for some follow-up. This is actually fairly common. When you give notice and are terminated before your end date, it's considered a discharge/termination under ESD rules. Make sure you're able to work and available for work during this gap period - that's a requirement for benefits. Also, you'll need to do your job search activities for each week you claim (3 activities per week). One thing to note: if your former employer contests this and claims they had cause to fire you (beyond just responding to your notice), it could go to adjudication. Be ready to clearly explain the sequence of events.

I ran into this EXACT situation in March 2025! Select "discharged" and then in the explanation box, clearly state: "I gave two weeks notice after accepting another position, but employer terminated me immediately instead of allowing me to work through my notice period." In my case, ESD approved my benefits for those two weeks without even contacting my employer. As others said, you'll still need to do your job search activities for each week claimed. I documented that I was starting my new job on X date but was available to work any other job during the gap.

If you're having trouble getting through to ESD to explain your situation (and you probably will because they never answer their phones 🙄), try using Claimyr. I was in adjudication hell for weeks trying to explain a similar situation until someone recommended it. They got me through to an actual ESD agent in about 20 minutes. Check out their website at claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 that shows how it works. Seriously saved me so much frustration.

Disregard what everyone else is saying!! If you already have a new job lined up and know the start date, you should apply for STANDBY status with ESD! That way you don't have to do the job search requirements since you already have work starting soon. You just need to be able to provide the start date for your new position. I did this last year during a 3 week gap between jobs.

im confused, if you already quit why would you get unemployment at all? aren't you only supposed to get it if you're laid off? not trying to be rude just don't understand how this works

make sure when u file ur weekly claims that u say ur able and available to work even tho u have a job lined up. if u say no to either question u wont get paid