Quick update question - is your hearing in-person, phone, or video? The process is slightly different for each format. For phone hearings, make sure you're in a quiet place with good reception. For video, test your connection beforehand. For in-person, arrive 30 minutes early and dress business casual. Also, after the hearing, regardless of the outcome, you should follow up with EDD about that waiting week. If you've already served a waiting week during your benefit year, you shouldn't need to serve another one just because of this issue. That might be a separate administrative error they need to fix.

good luck tomorrow! let us know how it goes!

I'm a former disability claims specialist, and I want to clarify something important: your husband MUST BE VERY CAREFUL if applying for both SSDI and UI simultaneously. For SSDI, he needs to prove he cannot perform substantial gainful activity. For UI, he needs to prove he CAN work. These are fundamentally contradictory claims. If he pursues both simultaneously, he could potentially face issues with one or both agencies questioning his credibility. I'd recommend consulting with a disability attorney before proceeding with both applications at once.

btw make sure ur husband ansers the EDD questions right when he certifies!!! the one about "were u able and available for work" MUST be yes or they auto-deny u!!!! also the part about did u look for work needs to be yes with actual job applications

Update on my situation from January: After my card was compromised, I switched to direct deposit for all future payments. It's much more secure. You can change this in your UI Online account under Payment Methods. For your current situation, make sure to emphasize to Money Network that you need an expedited review due to financial hardship. Sometimes they can prioritize cases, but you need to be very clear about the impact this is having. Also, check if your bank or credit card offers emergency loans or advances for situations like this.

Thank you for the update and advice! I just called Money Network again and specifically asked for an expedited review due to financial hardship. The rep said she would note it in my file but couldn't promise anything. I'm going to check with my credit union tomorrow about emergency assistance options. And I'm DEFINITELY switching to direct deposit once this is resolved!

UPDATE: My payment finally came through this morning! It took 3 days instead of the usual 1, but at least it arrived. I didn't have to activate the new card or anything. Looks like it was just a temporary delay like some of you mentioned. Thanks everyone for your help and commiseration!

Glad to hear your payment came through! For anyone else experiencing delays beyond 3-4 days, I recommend these steps: 1. Verify your payment status has changed from "pending" to "paid" in UI Online 2. Confirm your payment method hasn't changed in the system 3. Check if there are any certification questions that might have triggered a review (answering "yes" to not being available for work, etc.) 4. If you're approaching day 5 with no payment, contact EDD directly The current Money Network transition is causing some delays, but most payments are still processing within the 3-day window.

I remember when I had to wait for my disability hearing (not unemployment but similar system) and I was going crazy checking the mail every day!! Just hang in there you'll get through this!!!

I wanted to follow up with one more important point - while you're waiting for your appeal hearing, make sure you're meeting the ongoing work search requirements. Document all your job search activities thoroughly, because if you win your appeal, you'll need to show you were actively looking for work during all those weeks. This is especially important since your disqualification was related to job separation. The judge will want to see that you've been making consistent efforts to find new employment while your appeal was pending.