If you are receiving unemployment in CA, is it necessary to report any temporary work you are doing if you have not been paid for the work yet?

by Austin

(Oceanside, CA.)

I have included the previous question I posted earlier this week at the bottom of this page, along with the follow up question which is posted above.
I have accepted a one time freelance job from a company that paid me $2,500 for my skills and labor. I put in about 70 hours on this job over the past three weeks but I have not listed those hours on my unemployment claim form. California requires that you report any hours worked whether you were paid or not, but I don’t want to report the $2,500 until I receive a check in the mail, and the check is cashed (there are some shady employers out there and this is a relatively new company so I want to be careful about reporting income until I actually receive the income). I was going to report the hours on my claim form the week I received the check. Do you think this is a good way of handling it, or should I report previous hours worked like the claim form requests. I just don’t want to be penalized in any way or have future checks delayed by the state of California so I am trying to take the right steps to keep my unemployment in CA.

Here is my previous post if it matters: ((Thank you so much for responding to this question, I just included it here in case you needed more background on my case.))

I just started receiving unemployment in California. I receive the maximum of $450 a week. I was recently accepted a temporary freelance assignment for one week that would pay $2500.00. I understand I will not receive unemployment for one week because it exceeds my $450 weekly benefit amount, but what about future weeks. Could the state of California deny me up to 4-5 additional weeks of benefits to make up for the 2500.00 I hope to receive through this temporary assignment, or would this simply reduce my remaining claim balance through the state. Thanks for your time. I really appreciate it, it’s impossible to get a live operator on the line in the state of California.

Hi Austin,

I understand what you are saying, but we are supposed to report the hours we worked in a week when we file the claim for continued benefits for that week .. irregardless of whether we are paid or not in that week. What’s the big deal??? Are you unemployed or not.

Your question is a valid concern.

So I found some more reading material.

I really think you should read this.

They are going to want their money back.