Not everyone gets an automatic extension

So in the midst of the dramallama of the EDD basically effing up my UI, my benefits expired. What's this? asks you of the automatically filed extensions? Well, as I had a hold on my account when the benefits expired for some reason they won't just automatically re-file for me. Nope, I have to go through the whole process again, refile, await approval and hopefully restart the UI.

To complicate matters, I got a job!

It's a crappy job, only a few hours one day a week, but frankly I'm grateful to have it. The problem is that when I reapply, since my reapplication starts back in June (yes, my claim is so screwed up) do I list the new job I started last week as my last employer, or do I list my previous last employer and then fill in my few hours when the claim comes in? It would be wonderful if there was a phone number that actually worked where I could call and ask. I could call my secret direct number but I hesitate to use it less they change / cancel it.

The problem is that whether they extend benefits seems to be based upon some archaic formula and ritual (no doubt involving a dart board) which they are not particularly forth coming about.

So getting my google on I tried to figure out what type of hocus pocus is involved, and how to present myself as an extension worth peon. 

This is how they state eligibility:

FIRST EXTENSION

WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE FIRST EXTENSION

The first extension can be filed on or after July 6, 2008, and the last date the first extension can begin is December 20, 2009. You may be potentially eligible for the first extension if you:

• Are fully or partially unemployed on or after July 6, 2008,
• Have exhausted your entitlement to a regular UI claim,
• Are not qualified to file a new regular claim,
• Have had a valid claim that began on or after May 7, 2006,
• Meet all eligibility criteria. AND
• Have a regular UI claim where the total amount earned in the base period is either:
  • More than 40 times your weekly benefit amount, 
    
    OR
  • More than 1.5 times the highest quarter in your base period.

which might as well be written in Gobblyguck. F'rinstance: meet all eligibility criteria. OK, but what are "all eligibility criteria"? All of the eligibility criteria for UI, or for this new extension? and their AND bolded and capitalized, this formula reminiscent of the Math SATs.

translated:

 "weekly claim" X 40 greater than base period

First I have to figure out how they defined my base period.

That should be easy, right? Well no. The "base period" is what you earned for the 12 months 15 - 17 months before you filed your UI. No, seriously:

Benefits are calculated using an individual’s earnings during a specific 12 month period (this is called a base period). The base period begins approximately 15-17 months prior to the date the claim is filed. The amount paid each week is calculated based on the calendar quarter with the highest earnings during the base period.

...what the HELL? 

So OK going back to last years tax return - not that it actually helps because this nebulous 15 - 17 months makes a HUGE difference for people like me who work in industries like the film biz where employment pay varies from job to job. 

The good news is that I *think* (depending on which 12 months they pick) I'm within the weekly claim X 40 greater than base period

In other news I lost my phone interview. They're deducting two weeks from the backlog I never received. Somehow it's hard to get worked up over money I never see anyway.

7 Tips for dealing with the EDD and the Appeals board

So, after 4 months of not getting a single UI check I finally received 5, count 'em F-I-V-E checks in the mail. I'm still owed 8 more, but the relief of being paid *anything* is huge. Plus the whole experience has given me some insight into how that faceless bureaucracy works.

My appeal - the one way back in June was completely nerve-wracking. Creepster boss came - despite not really needing to be there since the company sent an HR person - and basically was his usually clueless-yet-vindictive self. 

The process was hard too - like, if you end up in the EDD appeals office, it isn't enough to prove your case. You have to also prove that their actions are contrary to the goal of the UI program (presumably that goal is NOT driving the unemployed to suicide, but who knows - suicide would be cheaper for them) AND that if you cashed your UI checks you legitimately believed yourself entitled to them AND whatever fines they've imposed are an economic hardship. Most people don't bother with that last bit, and like judges everywhere, the appeals judge likes to "split the baby". This is not easy.

So the process begins and the Judge did seem a bit annoyed with Creepster boss, saying either he or the HR person would be allowed to talk, the other person would have to leave or be a witness. I should have asked if the "witness" could wait outside until needed, because there was a power imbalance that was uncomfortable. 

Then we started on the issues. In my case I could prove that it was basically a weird clerical error, although that didn't stop Creepster boss from trying to paint me as the worlds worst employee. This didn't win him any points with the judge luckily - I explained I stopped working for him and started a new job in part because of a hostile environment - so him acting like a bully in the appeals office kind of helped that. 

My strategy was to make all of my crucial points over and over: These people were NOT my last employer (so the freeze was factually invalid AND Creepster boss shouldn't even be in the room because he and his company had no standing in this case) I had tried to correct the error repeatedly by email once I realized it existed (therefor I legitimately believed I was entitled to cash any and all checks) and finally I am so damned broke that forcing me to pay back benefits would be cruel. 

That last bit was easy and yet humiliating to prove. I went to an ATM and got a current checking balance ($76!) and stapled it to a 6 months budget I made up. Creepster boss just HAD to look over it - despite it being completely obvious that he shouldn't even be there at this point, but yanno he never did miss an opportunity to rub salt in a wound. 

The experience as hard and humiliating and awful. 

But, 20 days later I got a notice that I won.

Tip 1

Part of why I won is that I stopped trying to reach the EDD by phone. Seriously, why bother? It gets through about 1 in 500 attempts. I can't afford the cell phone minutes, so I email. 

https://eapply4ui.edd.ca.gov/eddcomm/asp/frmEDDCOMM.aspx

That link is the difference between stepping in front of a train and winning my appeal. Because they will answer emails - usually in 3 - 5 days. AND your email is on record, EXACTLY how you wrote it so when you DO go to appeal, you can show the judge and say; "hey yes I have tried to fix XYZ but the Blank Wall of EDD never corrected it."

Tip 2

In fact IF they send a letter saying "We're stopping your benefits for [insert bureaucratic nonsense here] and we've scheduled an EDD phone interview" email them IMMEDIATELY with some reason/question/concern relating to this issue. Don't mention that you *know* there's an issue, and don't say anything at all about receiving a letter - just raise the issue and try and correct it. 

Why? 

Tip 3

Because 99% of the time you will lose your phone interview. Seriously I think whatever you say goes through some EDD babelfish and comes out as "I AM A GIANT SCAMMER RIPPING OFF THE SYSTEM." 

You say: "I mailed my claim late because my father died and I had other things on my mind."

They write: "Applicant admits they are a giant scammer. Also, father probably in on the scam. Investigate immediately."

Tip 4

After you lose, request an appeal. Don't explain on the paperwork why you think you're right - just write I appeal. The temptation is to write an explanation and hope that maybe someone will recognize how silly this all is and just re-start the checks. It doesn't work that way. If you lost the phone interview and you appeal it's going to a judge. Period. Don't shoot yourself in the foot by saying something that proves your "guilt" according to the Byzantine rules of the EDD.

Then get your Google on. But in the mean time, you've created a paper trail of at least trying to fix the error, which goes towards proving that you believed you claim was valid/honest/in good faith - which is crucial in the hearing. 

Tip 5

The next important thing to do is request you EDD records. Do this ASAP, because you'll get a chance to see your interviewer's interpretation of the phone interview. Babelfish, I'm telling you. Often the interview will be spilt onto different pages AND it will contradict itself. That's good! Even better if it contradicts things you can prove OR what you sent by email.

Tip 6

When at all possible, deal with the Appeals Board instead of the EDD. For one thing, they answer their phones. For another, they're less stressed out. If you've had an appeal they can look up your file or answer questions - and in my case even give you a direct line to someone in the EDD office. 

Tip 7

It takes the appeals board 20 days to send the decision. It then takes the EDD another 4 WEEKS to enter the decision into their system AND then two weeks for your checks to start. At 4 weeks call the where's my check line. If you don't have a check, send an email ASAP. Because normally - if you won - you should be receiving benefits about 65 days after the hearing date. That's "normally" - but since normal is as rare as getting through to EDD by phone, count on things going wrong. 

...Like say they "lose" the decision. Repeatedly. Which is exactly what they claimed happened to mine. Four weeks after I got the decision I actually managed to reach someone on the phone (!) who told me they didn't have a record of it. So I emailed, they told me NOPE never got it, and gave me a fax number to send it to. Of course, they sent me the wrong fax number. But at this point I'm wise to their game and sent it to both the number they sent AND the other fax number I had on file.

So I faxed another copy, and asked the Appeals Board to resend one as well. When, 3 weeks later they still claimed not to have the decision, I called the Appeals board asking for help, and they were kind enough to give me a direct number. After 6 holds and 6 transfers and one call back I was speaking to the absolutely wonderful Ms. Wu who made a point of reading the whole file while on the phone with me, entering the Judges decision, and authorizing 5 checks. 

Which isn't all I'm owed - I had another phone interview - but at least enough to pay bills, buy dog food, and maybe even get my brakes fixed!

Shortest of short success

Last week I *finally* got a UI check. It was down to the wire - seriously. I had $28 left in the bank and about $400 of pending bills. I paid what I had to, but was leering of getting even groceries until I got more checks. A second check came and I started to relax a little. I got groceries, dog food, even treated myself to a 2 buck chuck bottle of wine, and then ...DISASTER. 

The EDD now claims that I was never entitled to benefits because I quit my job. 

They want me to pay back $4k - 

Um what now? 

Here's what happened (I think!): 

I had the crappiest job in crapville. Like seriously. My boss was just a nightmare on so many levels looking back I have to laugh about it. I mean, he ran the gamut of bad boss behavior: from harassment and assault, my boss was a winner. Then just for giggles, he was also incompetent (cousin hire), and liked to do fun things like dismantling safety equipment and not telling anyone (that got me a trip to the emergency room) and then NOT FIXING the equipment even after someone was injured. So, like the worlds worst boss, and a creepy boob-talker to boot. 

HR was basically useless, and I felt like a lawsuit would drag on forever and compound my misery. I just wanted out. So I found another job. I told an upper manager I quit, started a new job the next day, it was great. My Crap boss called - I missed a meeting where I was going to formally quit. I asked for my last check to be mailed, he told me I would have to come in and return my parking pass first (!) and I basically forgot about him. I was happy, I loved my new job it was awesome. 

After 2 months I was laid off. Ain't that just the way it goes :/

I applied for UI. I got a few checks and then the trouble started. 

So now, this new letter saying I quit is apparently referring to the first job. Why, you ask. Because my utterly crap boss decided to put me on a Leave of Absence. Without asking me, or telling me or HELL even checking if I was eligible (I wasn't) for a LOA. Who on earth does that? Then a friend told me about waiting day periods and it started to click. As far as I can tell, crap boss violated the law in refusing to give me my final check. So he put me on a "LOA" so he could claim I still worked there IF the late check thing ever came up. I think. I actually have no idea why they would do that. It's just SO weird. 

So NOW the way nasty EDD rep who interviewed me kept insisting that I stopped working a month before I did makes sense. She was trying to prove crap job was my last job, even though the evidence she has at her disposal (like OH, PAY RECORDS) don't bear that out.  I didn't feel like she was listening to me, now I know. Do they have a quota, you think? Do they have to deny X amount of claims per day or they get pulled into a managers office for a talking to?  

I am so freaked out now. It will be another 8 - 10 weeks of the shit I just went through. The stress and depression and everything is about to start again. I'll probably stock up on essentials like dog food. Luckily my landlord was understanding before, hopefully he still will be. 

Maybe I'll get a job. But first I have to appeal this lunacy.

10 - 12 days

I got a check! Just in time, too. I almost cried when I saw the envelope. I'm still wary. We'll see if I get another one. Still, after what, 70 days? It was a needed break.

What I ended up doing was writing the EDD again, asking why I hadn't received a call and where was my check. This got a single sentence reply: A check has been authorized, please wait 10 - 12 days for it to arrive.

Great, another 10 - 12 days. Seriously, those delays are what really almost killed me. You measure out your time, you budget, you make god-awful amounts of bean soup, and you think; "well, I can do this for ten to twelve days". Only they pass and nothing happens. The EDD doesn't keep their end of the deal, so you have to email them again. That's a 2 - 4 day delay as they answer the email, and the reply is inevitably to expect some sort of resolution. In 10 - 12 days. 

So the bean soup goes back on the stove, and you start measuring off time by multiplying the least amount you can live on by what you have left, and just hope to god the answer is longer than 10 - 12 days. 

I don't think I'll ever be able to use that as a measure of time again. It has such pleasant potential. Like a vacation, like; "So buddy, how long will you be in Hawaii?" "Oh you know, 10 - 12 days I think. We want to really see the islands". 

Not anymore. Now 10 - 12 days is the promise of an EDD stuck in a Groundhog day loop while the rest of us go on and on and on waiting for them to finish whatever office hocus pocus they need to complete to get your check to you.

No call, no news, no check. Welcome to dealing with the EDD

The scheduled telephone call never came. I never was more than two feet from my phone, and even slept with my hand wrapped around it. My boy friend says I'm becoming obsessed, but I think the words he's looking for is "terrified" or "stressed beyond rational thought". This is the email response I received from The EDD:

[Pinky] You requested information on your eligibility following a telephone interview. According to our records, the decision is currently pending. We have forwarded your information to the office that handles your claim. You will receive a telephone call within 2 working days to provide you the status on your claim.

This was after I had a hearing - because my former employer fudged their numbers -and I waited the 12 days I was told to wait until my UI started again. So I tried calling, which doesn't work, ever. So I wrote an email asking for an explanation. Or a timeline, or any news, really. And they sent me that, and I naively thought that "You will receive a telephone call within 2 working days to provide you the status on your claim" meant that I would actually receive a call within two days. Maybe it's my fault, for thinking Monday through Friday were "working" days.
My phone and internet contacted me yesterday. I have four days to pay up or be disconnected. Obviously the phone is the priority. I can leech internet for my job searches from coffee shops, but I really need a phone in my job search. So four days to come up with $200. But maybe those are "working" days.

Unemployed in Ca ca californiiiiaaaa

Most of what I've figured out about being newly unemployed in California has come from blogs. God knows it's almost impossible to reach an EDD rep. You cannot get through on the telephone lines. The offices are NOT staffed with any person who can answer questions about your claim. The handbook is a bone-dry work of fiction, bearing zero resembalence to the actual day to day of the people it's meant to help. It's all so pathetic, really. California is in crisis, every single person on UI is going through a hell of red tape and made up hoops that they supposedly forgot to jump through, and the media coverage is of press releases and new state measures.

Pointless state measures at that.

Guys, how about covering the real story? The people that are hurting, that are dying during this this criminal bureaucratic budgetary bait-and-switch?

Governor, we're on to you. You seem to have forgotten that we Californians have a lot of experience with crooked earthquake insurers. We know all about slick salesmen that are our BFF's until we file a claim. So this? This endless maze of paperwork and hearings and unexplained delays and no way to find any person we can hold accountable and phone lines that are never picked up and offices staffed by people who either know nothing or are not allowed to talk about it? This trick you're pulling is not new.

It's same old routine we go through after a Big One, and they get away with it until public outrage forces the Government to act. Do you really think this play will end differently, Arnie?

I had a hearing in the beginning of March. The last check I received was in the beginning of February. After my hearing the rep said the error was on my former employer's part & that I could expect checks in 10 - 12 days. My checks never come. No letter, no notice - I get NO explanation at all. Apparently we're just expected to quietly starve while nothing happens. The whole time I'm calling the EDD - racking up minutes I cannot afford - but never getting through. I try the automated system, but that isn't working either. Finally I get an email telling me my case is pending (pending for what I wonder? The rep already told me the error was on my former employers part) and that they'll call me in a few days.

The best case scenario is that I get a job and can tell the EDD to go to hell. Personally, if that happened I would like the option to opt out of the UI system in the future and invest the money on my own. I could have handed it over to Bernie Madoff and done no worse.

The second best, (and about as likely as my winning the lottery) is that when they call they resolve my case in my favor and start paying checks. But even in that unlikely scenario I will STILL have to wait another 10 - 12 days before I get any money. 58 days of delays.

Hopefully I wont be evicted first.