CA Unemployment and being a Full time student mostly online classes.

There is little benefits for not being fully honest with EDD, especially when they catch you. Trust me, I know!

Seriously James?

Chris

I was receiving benefits every two weeks… I started school… Notified EDD immediately… My benefits stopped… I went through a phone interview… I received determination letter 3 days after phone interview…letter stated Im eligible to receive unemployment benefits while attending school.. In the mean time my benefits have not started back.. It pays to lie but it really hurts to be truthful…. I kind of wish I never told them…

Hi,

Okay .. granted, it can hurt to be truthful, and it might even pay to lie, but if you get caught in the lie .. it not only hurts, but you will be the one paying benefits .. back.

I hope that those who aren’t unemployed currently, but think they might become unemployed read up on unemployment first.

It’s truthfully the best time to put contingency plans in place when it comes to collecting unemployment benefits .. no matter what the concern may be including preparing for a separation from a job.

The unemployment system was really designed to give benefits to those who “lost their job through no fault of their own” .. A layoff is the only separation that presents no opportunity for the employer to argue your right to benefits.

Let’s just assume for a moment that what is meant by “no fault of your own” always means the fault lies with the employer for the separation from work. (I am disregarding provisions for personal compelling and necessitous reasons.)

Everyone should know by now, but no one seems to believe that as difficult as it is to get benefits in the first place (See Recipiency, by state) it can be even more difficult to retain benefits (see recipiency, by state for past years).

There are more reasons to stop receipt of benefits once you start collecting .. than there were before you started collecting.

I think there is a natural and obvious assumption if you know that the length of unprecedented high unemployment rates, coupled with the fact that the system itself .. is setup on cyclical elements that have always held true in the past to replenish the funds that pay for benefits.

The assumption is that the system has basically, broken down .. and it’s not just the unemployed that are desperate, but the governmental agencies that run the programs .. because they have no money.

States whose funds are broke are forced to borrow from the feds. Usually they would be required to repay the feds with interest. (I believe the loans are now interest free).

States are aggressively looking for ways to either completely stop payment of benefits or at least .. put them on hold .. to avoid an ever increasing time of recovery.

So I am not surprised, considering the length of this recession thus far, that the able and available section of any set of state unemployment laws to name just one, is being aggressively used to staunch or control the flow of benefits from the broken funds.

Cont’d

But, for the unemployed, lying isn’t a solution. It’s a tourniquet for those who failed to have full understanding of what a state expects in return for those benefits .. to be able and available for work .. and in many states .. able to prove you were also looking for work. (Anyone been asked to produce their job search log?)

Although I have no medical knowledge .. I believe the danger of a tourniquet is that sustained and continued pressure can cause a limb to fall off .. i.e., your benefits.

I assume this is what happened to James.

I was receiving benefits every two weeks. I started school on February 8 (CA Workforce Computer Classes). Notified EDD immediately. My benefits stopped. Waited 10 days for a phone interview. Had the phone interview on February 24. Almost a week later – still awaiting a reply from EDD. Regretting the decision to step foot in the classroom.

I just had a phone interview with EDD today. First thing she asked me was “Are you looking for a full-time job?” I told her yes, then she asked me about the details of my classes (the name of the school, name of the class, class time, when the semester ends, how many units, how much I paid for all my classes). I was honest about my reason for taking classes. I told her I already have a BA and I’m just taking classes for personal enrichment. She asked me what I would do if I find a job that interferes with my classes, I told her I’d quit the school because I’m only taking them for my own personal interest, not for a degree. She said that was okay and approved my case.

After I hung up the phone I checked my class schedule and realized that I gave her wrong class time and wrong number of units. Oops! I’m not sure if that’s going to be a problem. I don’t think they would try to verify my class schedule.

Anyways, good luck to you all!