That's such great news! I'm so happy you were able to get through and get it sorted out. The stress of potentially missing that interview must have been overwhelming. Good luck with the actual interview on Thursday - sounds like you're in much better shape now. Also want to echo what others said about having all the documentation ready. They usually ask about your last employer, dates of employment, reason for leaving, and sometimes about your job search efforts. Having everything organized beforehand makes it go much smoother!

Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through a similar situation a few months ago. The fact that you were proactive and got this resolved before your phone service was cut off was absolutely the right move. I made the mistake of waiting until after I missed my interview to try to fix things, and it turned into a 6-week nightmare of trying to get reinstated. For anyone else reading this thread who might face similar issues - act FAST and don't wait until the last minute. EDD is actually more reasonable than people think when you contact them beforehand rather than after missing appointments. Good luck with your interview Thursday!

I'm going through the EXACT same situation right now! Had my eligibility interview this past Monday, certified yesterday, and just logged in to see that horrible "disqualification" status. I was literally shaking when I first saw it because I thought I had completely blown my interview somehow. This thread has been an absolute godsend - I can't believe how many of us are experiencing this identical timeline and situation. It's really reassuring to see that this seems to be EDD's standard (and terribly designed) process rather than actual rejections. The fact that so many people eventually got their status changed to "paid" after 5-8 days gives me hope that this "disqualification" thing is just their awful placeholder while they finish processing. Like everyone else, my interview notification also disappeared from my homepage after the call, which based on what others have shared seems to be a good sign. I'm definitely going to follow the advice here - wait until Thursday before panicking, start documenting all my job search activities right now, and keep checking my inbox obsessively for any notices. It's honestly criminal that EDD uses such scary language when they could easily say "interview results pending" or "under review." Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - knowing I'm not alone in this nightmare makes the waiting so much more bearable!

I'm going through this EXACT same situation right now too! Had my eligibility interview on Wednesday, certified this morning, and just saw that awful "disqualification" status appear. My heart literally dropped when I first saw it - I was convinced I had somehow messed up during the interview even though it seemed to go well. Reading through all these responses has been such an incredible relief! It's amazing how many people are experiencing this identical timeline and situation. It really does seem like EDD's system just defaults to "disqualification" as a temporary placeholder while they process interview results, which is such terrible design. They should definitely use something less terrifying like "interview results under review" or "processing pending." Based on everyone's shared experiences here, I'm going to wait until Thursday before calling EDD, and I'm starting to gather all my job search documentation right now just in case I need it for an appeal. The fact that so many people eventually saw their status change to "paid" after about a week gives me real hope that this is just their broken process rather than actual denials. My interview notification also disappeared from my homepage after the call (seems like that's a good sign based on what others have shared!). Thanks everyone for creating such a supportive discussion - this thread is honestly saving my mental health while I wait this nightmare out!

Just wanted to follow up - did you ever get through to the SDI office? Were you able to find out what's happening with your claim? I'm curious because I'll need to deal with an IME review later this year too.

I'm dealing with a similar IME situation right now and this thread has been so helpful! One thing I learned from my case worker is that you can actually request a status update on your IME report through the SDI online portal - there's a "Contact Us" section where you can send a secure message asking specifically about IME report processing times. This way you have a written record of your inquiry and they're supposed to respond within 5 business days. It's been more reliable for me than trying to get through on the phone lines. Also, if your payments do get interrupted while waiting for the report, make sure to keep certifying for benefits if you're still within your benefit period - the payments should be retroactive once everything gets sorted out.

Just want to add my experience as another data point for people dealing with special characters - my last name has an accent (García) and I went through almost the exact same ordeal as Derek. The ID.me agent said everything was "fixed" but I still couldn't register for UI Online. What finally worked for me was calling through Claimyr (took about 20 minutes to get through) and specifically asking the EDD rep to spell out my name letter by letter from their system. Turns out the accent got stripped out entirely during the transfer from ID.me to EDD, so my name was stored as "Garcia" in their database. Once the rep updated it to match exactly what was on my documents, I was able to register immediately. The whole process took maybe 10 minutes once I got the right person on the phone. It's insane that we have to deal with this in 2025, but at least there are solutions. Thanks Derek for sharing your success story - it gave me the confidence to keep pushing for a resolution instead of just giving up!

This thread should honestly be pinned to the top of this community! As someone who works in customer service for a different government agency, I can tell you that these special character database sync issues are unfortunately common across many older government systems. What Derek and others have experienced is a classic case of legacy databases that weren't designed to handle Unicode characters properly. The fact that ID.me uses modern character encoding but EDD's systems strip out or convert special characters during data transfer is a textbook example of poor system integration. For anyone still struggling with this, here are a few additional tips: 1) When you get through to an EDD rep, ask them to check not just how your name appears, but also ask them to verify the CHARACTER COUNT matches what's on your documents - sometimes invisible characters get added during transfers. 2) If possible, ask them to update your name in ALL their systems during the same call rather than just fixing one database. 3) Screenshot your successful login once you get it working - you'll want that exact format if you ever need to re-register. It's absolutely shameful that people have to become database troubleshooting experts just to access unemployment benefits, but this community knowledge-sharing is invaluable for navigating these broken systems!

I just wanted to jump in as someone who's currently navigating a similar situation. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - this community really knows their stuff! One thing I'd add based on my recent experience: when you have your eligibility interview, be prepared to explain not just what you tried, but also WHY each option didn't work. For example, don't just say "daycare was too expensive" - explain that at $2,400/month it would consume 65% of your take-home pay, leaving your family financially worse off than if you weren't working at all. Also, I noticed you mentioned applying to remote positions. Make sure you're also documenting applications to in-person jobs that have schedules compatible with your childcare situation (like 9am-3pm positions, weekend work, etc.). EDD wants to see you're not just limiting yourself to one type of work arrangement. The emotional toll of this situation is real, but try to keep your interview focused on the practical/financial impossibility of your previous work arrangement rather than the stress aspects. EDD responds better to concrete numbers and logistics than emotional arguments, unfortunately. You've got this! The fact that you tried so many solutions with your employer before quitting shows you made a good faith effort to preserve your job. That's exactly what EDD looks for in "good cause" determinations.

As someone who successfully obtained UI benefits after quitting due to childcare issues, I wanted to share a few additional tips that really helped my case: First, create a detailed financial breakdown showing your net loss if you had continued working. Include not just childcare costs, but also commuting expenses, work lunches, professional clothing, and any overtime childcare fees. In my case, I would have actually lost $300/month by continuing to work - this concrete number was crucial during my appeal. Second, document your husband's work schedule with his employer if possible. I got a letter from my spouse's HR department confirming his shift times, which helped EDD understand why standard daycare hours (7am-6pm) left us with zero coverage gaps. Third, when describing your job search, use the phrase "suitable employment" - this is the legal standard EDD uses. You can have reasonable restrictions on work hours/location and still be considered available for work as long as there's sufficient job opportunities within your parameters. Finally, if you get denied initially (which is common), file your appeal immediately. I was denied at first but won on appeal because the judge had more time to review all my documentation. The appeals process took about 8 weeks but I received back pay for all the weeks I certified. Your situation sounds very similar to mine and you've done everything right by trying to work with your employer first. Stay organized with your documentation and don't give up if you get an initial denial!