Unemployment Filing Guides

Unemployment Workshop (presentation of 12/13/23) (PDF)

If You Filed and Have Not Heard Back From the EDD

The California Employment Development Department is apparently so overwhelmed that many folks are reporting that they filed weeks ago and still have not had any response from the EDD, even after multiple emails. If more than three weeks have gone by and the EDD has not processed your claim:

• Do not file again. This will not help, and may create more confusion.
• Email the EDD through your online account, or call the EDD at 1-800-300-5616.
• If you find that your emails are unanswered, and that you cannot reach the EDD by phone, contact your California state senator or assemblymember.

Because the EDD is so backlogged and unresponsive, many CA legislators have hired additional staff to help their constituents in dealing with the EDD. In fact, many of them have a link on their home page that goes to a form that you can submit to ask for help with unemployment. (The Democratic caucus developed the form, so if your senator or assembymember is a Democrat, there is a good chance you will see a link to this form on their home page.)

If You Receive a Notice of Overpayment

If you receive a notice of overpayment from the California Employment Development Department (EDD) that claims you were actually working when you were not, and tries to claw back the unemployment benefits money already paid to you, you will need to file an appeal to stop the EDD from trying to get the money back.

See How to Appeal a Notice of "Overpayment".

Recent Changes to Your EDD Login

This is a message sent out earlier this year by EDD:

"Towards the end of June, how you log in to your account (Benefit Programs Online, or BPO) will be replaced with myEDD, a simple and more secure way to log in to and access your benefits. myEDD is the first step of EDDNext, a multi-year modernization project that will improve your customer experience. myEDD will include secure login verification, like with online banking, and easier password recovery. No action is needed at this time. In the next few weeks, we will send you information about the few simple steps you’ll need to take the first time you log in to myEDD."

Apparently the only functional difference with this new "project that will improve your customer experience" is that their email system no longer allows you ro reply to messages sent from EDD that appear in your in-box. In fact, there seems to be no way to contact EDD through email anymore.