Beware EDD CA
 

I received a notification to 'Reopen my Claim' from EDD CA. This was MUCH more comprehensive questioning on their part. It took me over an hour to understand and fill out the 5 (yes five) page Reopen forms. They now include:

* A redundant questioning on how much you earned during December (I worked 3-days) and want (at least to my understanding) you to AGAIN claim what you were paid during your next Certify.
* They now ask questions about 'Winter Recess' (dates, etc.) and when you plan to look for work (in my case January 11th). So it looks like Subs cannot certify for the weeks December 27th - January 9th) or receive UI payments for those times.
* They want to know your school supervisors NAME and direct phone number (I left mine blank and didn't get an error), I just put the District general phone number in. They also said they would contact your School District and that your District will get the information you provide. So I answered all questions correctly except for Supervisors name.

The whole thing is slanted towards paying Subs as little as possible, and maybe us not getting the $300 pandemic EDD bonus, and also checking up on us comprehensively.

I don't even know if my 'Reopen Claim' will be successful. EDD CA has done their homework. If they had asked these rather pointed questions in March then I'm sure we would not have been paid during the summer. And it makes me think (negatively I confess) they may come back at Subs here in California to replay all the monies paid during the summer. Just a guess. When, it was quite a task 'Reopening' tonight.

It's scary out there right now, not just this with EDD CA but the political situation in general.

Sorry to be alarmist but you should know, Cali Subs, what's going on and be prepared to spend a lot of time 'Reopening a Claim' and dwelling on many of the questions they ask.

Wow!! We have to reopen a claim that's 5 pages?!
This is so disheartening. There aren't many sub jobs to go around for everyone in my district. Usually, it's the other way around. :(
I only worked two days in December. I don't have a Supervisor, so I'll just give them my district info like you did. I hope that we're not asked to repay anything.
I'll log into my UI account tomorrow.
Thank you for letting us know, and for walking us through it Jakeh! <!--coffee-->

Ok, so I changed my mind and logged in to my UI account and this is what it said: Reopen Your Claim

What constitutes "a period of time" for EDD?
I have certified- last day was on the 27th of December, and I have certified during this benefit year, so my understanding is I shouldn't Reopen a Claim then? :confused:
<!--coffee-->
added a bit later: Ok, so I'm reading on other platforms from ppl in Cali advising not to Reopen a new claim bcz it might trigger a duplicate claim. Confused, but I'm going to wait this out a bit more- maybe two more wks and see what happens. EDD sent out a news update which I'll post below.
It seems we should be getting our extension within 2 wks. I hope I'm understanding this correctly.

Date: Jan. 8, 2021 Aubrey Henry
916-654-9029 News Release No.: 21-01

Thanks for the info. I just logged in and it doesn't say anything different. I did get the $600.

Info needed
 

What I want to know is now that I’m on the Fed-Ed extension am I going to be put back into the 11 week program that Congress just passed???

I just logged into UI Online Home and still see this even though I reopened last night.

"Reopen Your Claim

If you have not certified for benefits for a period of time or you have never certified during this benefit year, you must reopen your claim.

Reopen Your Claim"

...it's the same screens/pages as last night. I don't understand 'for a period of time.' I think I'll pass on this for now.

In addition, they keep sending me a notice that I changed my address. I did not do so even though they have the very same address I've been using all along. EDD is really messed up in my opinion.

This looks like the same form I had to fill out last time I re-applied (this was in october or november if i remember right). I wouldn't find it too sketchy? My only gripe with it is they barely allow any room to write an explanation for your situation. I think our situation is fairly unique, since some of us are in that wishy washy boat where we get maybe one call every couple of weeks, so we're technically "employed," but going to do it means going on site in person to a questionable place and risking covid for some money we won't even see until like next month, and then the amount won't pay any bills after taxes. Like, it's not worth it. I live with high risk family members as well, so there's no way I'm putting them at risk.

The job right now is honestly insane. I'd go to a building and use a worse laptop than the one I have at home, to sit in a zoom call for like 7 hours straight, and then get covid on my way out the office door because someone was asymptomatic and showed up anyway and masks only work so well. Then I take it home to my family members and get them sick, and for what? 150 dollars a month from now? Like... honestly?

But you can't explain all that in 100 characters, so you just have to sound like you're lazily not accepting "jobs," when half the time there aren't any anyway. The cherry on top is that unless there's an extension, we're filling all this out for like, the bottom of the barrel of whatever's left. Or at least, I am. In any case, good luck to everyone.

I'm sorry you're going through this. I don't miss the headache from when I was out on maternity leave.

I'm not surprised that EDD sent you a form 5 pages long. The whole system is racked with fraud.

My daughter's daycare teachers still haven't received their unemployment from the spring, yet prisoners got payouts into the thousands.

claim automatically extended
 

My claim expired the end of December (as did many of yours). I got a notice from EDD (CA) in the mail a couple of weeks ago saying that EDD had filed to open a new claim on my behalf. After that, I saw the same "Reopen Claim" notice (that some of you wrote about) on my UI online account, but I did not do anything since EDD had already notified me they were filing my new claim. Yesterday, I got an email asking me to certify for benefits online. :) My UI account now says that my claim has been extended till March. I was able to certify for the last 2 weeks.

I've had many experiences filing claims with CA EDD over the years. EDD has always been impressively organized and reliable. However, this pandemic has turned everything upside down. I'm glad to see that EDD is finally getting back on track.

Since it's extremely difficult to contact EDD, I take a "wait and see" approach these days and let the dust settle rather than letting myself get stressed over delays. Sometimes all the forms, notifications, and red tape seem confusing and overwhelming, but most of it is just a state agency doing its work. Unless I see serious red flags, I try to stand back and let it work. (I think it's best not to do anything unless I've done the research and know what to do.)

It hasn't always been as timely as it should, but so far, for me, EDD has eventually come through over these past several months. It's been a heaven sent. I'm also really grateful for this extension and the Fed money that has come in.

I've been subbing a bit (distance learning subbing) since September, but schools in my area have been closed since last March. They were supposed to reopen this month, but that changed. Now there's no new reopen date in sight. (Quite honestly, I won't feel safe going back to in-person teaching until I've at least gotten my vaccine.) Due to school closure and distance learning, the sub jobs have been much more scarce. Thank God my EDD claim has been extended!

My "Reopen Claim" notice disappeared on Sunday (last, 1/10). A notice to "Certify Week(s)" was visible, I did so, but only for only 1-week, and to check back by 1/17 to certify more. The week for which I certified is still 'pending.'

The 'pending' has me worried since I've seen people certify and get almost immediate payment. Not so for me... Don't know if they are sending me another Debit card since I already have one from EDD for BofA.

Still waiting...

I did not get any special notices from EDD, except an an e-mail telling me to log into EDD.

Nothing said anything about reopening a claim.

There was the usual form for two weeks recertification and my claim balance. It was just business as usual with a two week delay, but no gap in the weeks to recertify, which is contrary to the note I got the last claim period that there would be no more benefits paid.

The only difference is that the word "outstanding" has been replaced with " pending", and no mention of the extra $300/week.

I am still waiting for my $600 stimulus.