Reporting self-employment to Cali EDD--update I got through to them!

[desertdarlene]

Yeah, especially since what I make really doesn't effect my unemployment very much, except for once in a while I might get a bigger check than usual.

I've heard horror stories about other states where people have said that they have been totally denied benefits for being an independent contractor or having 1/4 of their benefits reduced for each day they work. I only do two to three hours a week, not a full day, even. No wonder why people don't report this stuff.

The only issue I can see is if they somehow found out that I made more money that I reported to them and did an investigation. I know the chances of that are slim, but I don't like to keep looking over my shoulder when it comes to something that can cost me money.

ETA: Not all the income I receive is going to be 1009'd

Not saying I won't report it, but. . . .

 

[debilorrah]

living here in SoCal, working where I do and having dealt with them so much in the past, I am not going to tell you to LIE LIKE A RUG. No I am not.

 

[desertdarlene]

Quote:
LOL, nope, can't say that I will do that.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
LOL, nope, can't say that I will do that.

Seriously though, ever since they closed all local offices and made us do everything via telephone, it is a very nightmare.

 

[desertdarlene]

I know, and now you have to know which button to hit to actually get to a person. Have you heard the new phone menu when you call? There's no option to press if you want to discuss your claim with a representative. It's all filing a claim or extension. In other words, unless you're filing a new claim, don't bother calling. But, sometimes I have a complicated issue and I must call them!

Where I live, I'm lucky, we do have a career center where you can do appeals and things with an actual employment judge and there is an EDD representative on site (sometimes).

 

[Carols Clucks]

I love when they send your forms back as addressee unknown......... (my boss swapped EDD forms and envelopes) BOTH to the EDD

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Trained by monkeys in japan I tell ya.

 

[desertdarlene]

I was thinking of calling them today (I already e-mailed them and, surprise, no response), but I feel like I would get even more confused. The lady I last talked to actually put me on hold to ask a supervisor about it, so I will go with her answer for now. But, it could still be a wrong answer. Sometimes, it's the way you word the question to the right person that gets you the right answer.

I believe they're so departmentalized over there that the people who talk to people on the phone don't have any idea what the people who screen the claim forms are doing. So, while they tell me one thing, the people who actually look at the forms see something else. And, people who do the auditing are doing something else even still.

Trial and error, I guess.

Right now, being an independent contractor is the only suitable work I've found.

 

[desertdarlene]

Well, they finally e-mailed me back and they scheduled me an interview, so my check WILL be late.

I called them on the phone and they did say that I was approved for self-employment three times, but never scheduled for an interview until today. The lady on the phone said it would be good for me to do the interview because they will tell me how to report it. She said to report this week's earnings as "self-employment" and after the interview, they should release my check. I don't know when the interview is going to be, but probably mid to late next week. So, it should be all taken care of before my claim ends.

The thing is, they were supposed to put it in my notes, more visibly, that I was approved for SE so that when I filled out my forms, I wouldn't have a problem with reporting it, but no one did. I might have to do this all over again with my new claim.