Appeal a Notice of Determination or Notice of Overpayment: How To Protect Your Unemployment Insurance Benefits
If you receive a Notice of Determination or Notice of Overpayment, the California Employment Development Department has decided you are not eligible for unemployment insurance benefits, or that you need to return benefits you were paid. You have the right to appeal the EDD’s decision, and can take immediate steps to start that process.
Start the Appeals Process
You can appeal the decision by sending in the Appeal Form.
Mail the appeal form within 30 days of the date the Notice was mailed to you.
Mail the appeal form to the EDD address printed at the top of the Notice of Determination or Notice of Overpayment.
Keep your explanation statement (at the bottom of the appeal form) simple: “I disagree with the EDD’s determination” or “I disagree with the EDD’s decisions and would like a judge to review my case” is enough. You will have a chance to fully argue your case later.
You should have received a copy of the appeal form with the Notice of Determination or Notice of Overpayment.
Did you miss the 30-day deadline? You can still appeal the decision.
If you appeal the decision after the deadline, the EDD is still required to send your case to the agency that reviews appeals.
When you go before a judge in a hearing for your appeal, you will need to explain why you were not able to send in your appeal on time. The judge will determine whether you had “good cause,” meaning a good reason, for the delay. Good cause can include all different sorts of reasons, including that you had trouble understanding the notice and your rights, that you were dealing with medical issues, or that you did not receive the Notice.
Did you lose the Appeal Form?
You should have received a copy of the appeal form with the Notice of Determination or Notice of Overpayment. But if you lost it or can’t find it, that’s alright!
You can also send a letter to the EDD address listed on the Notice of Determination or Notice of Overpayment. The letter should have the following information: (a) Your personal information: name, address, Social Security number, and (b) the statement “I disagree with the EDD’s decision and would like a judge to review my case.”
Did you lose the Notice of Determination or Notice of Overpayment?
If you lost the Notice of Determination and Notice of Overpayment and need the mailing address or another copy, that’s also OK.
What happens next? You will have a hearing with a judge from an independent agency called the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (also called the CUIAB).
Shortly after you mail your appeal form, you will receive an Acknowledgment Letter in the mail, confirming that your appeal has been received and is being processed.
This letter will also have instructions on registering with the CUIAB’s online MyAppeal system. By registering, you will create your own online appeal portal, where you can view the entire appeal file, upload new evidence, and make other requests like postponing the hearing. For more information on registering with MyAppeal, visit https://cuiab.ca.gov/myappeal/.
When you first register, the date of your hearing will most likely not be set yet. Check your portal regularly for when a document called “Notice of Hearing” is uploaded. This document will have the date and time of your hearing, as well as instructions on how to call in for the hearing.
If you don’t register with MyAppeal, the CUIAB will still send you a paper copy of the appeal file in the mail to the address you put on your appeal form. This packet will have the same documents as the appeal portal. However, we still strongly recommend everyone register with MyAppeal if you can. You will be able to view the appeal file sooner, and submitting new evidence and reviewing documents will be much easier.
You have the right to an interpreter in your native language to be present if you wish – call the CUIAB office number in the bottom left corner of the Notice of Hearing to confirm or request interpretation for your hearing.
How can you prepare for the hearing?
The most important thing is to show up to the hearing, but sometimes there are ways to prepare:
The default way these hearings are done is by phone – not an in-person or video hearing. You can still have an in-person hearing, but you must specifically request this. Review the Notice of Hearing for instructions on how to call in for the hearing.
Review the appeal file carefully to understand why the EDD made its decisions against you. Think about the time period the issues relate to and try to remember what happened to the best of your ability and memory.
Collect and submit new evidence or witness statements. You can submit new evidence by uploading it to the appeal portal or by faxing the document to the specific Office of Appeals your hearing is in.
Prepare and practice your explanation of what happened, so you can explain it to the judge.
Why Should You Appeal a Notice of Determination or Notice of Overpayment?
The EDD has made an important decision for you and your family. Even if you are not sure whether the decision is incorrect, it is your right and the government’s duty to have a neutral judge review these cases.
There is absolutely no harm in appealing your decision. If you lose your appeal, there are not any additional negative consequences. After the judge reviews the case, if you still disagree, you can ask for an additional round of review.
Even if the EDD is technically correct that you were not eligible for benefits, you can apply for a “waiver” of your overpayment.
If the EDD decided that you made a false statement, that decision could make it difficult to receive unemployment benefits in the future. Even if you’re financially secure, or don’t feel like getting unemployment benefits is important to you right now, you may want to protect your ability to access unemployment insurance benefits in the future.
Having Trouble Understanding the Forms? Here’s A Cheat Sheet
Some of the documents you will be sent are confusing – here’s a cheat sheet that explains the purpose of each document:
Notice of Determination
Explains the specific legal reason the EDD decided you were not eligible for benefits for some period of time.This may be written in dense, legal language that is hard to understand.
Notice of Overpayment
If you received benefits, this Notice states how much money the EDD believes you owe them.
The amount you owe can sometimes include a penalty, depending on the legal reason for the decision. This usually happens when the EDD decides you intentionally made a “false statement” (provided incorrect information) to them, which supposedly resulted in you being paid too much benefits.
Acknowledgment of Appeal
Tells you that the EDD has received your appeal, and forwarded your case to the CUIAB, which will be scheduling you for a hearing.
Provides your case number and further procedural options.
Provides the link for registering for MyAppeal (https://cuiab.ca.gov/myappeal/) and further instructions to register and create your online appeal portal.
Notice of Hearing
Tells you the date and time of your hearing with a judge from the CUIAB.
Tells you the specific legal issue(s) you and the judge will discuss at the hearing.
Lists the office number to call to check in for your telephonic hearing (again, the default for hearings are that they are conducted over the phone).
Has instructions on how to call and check-in for your hearing.
Has the phone and fax number for the CUIAB office of appeals handling your case in the bottom left corner.
Heads Up: You usually don’t have very much time (2 to 3 weeks at most) between when a Notice of Hearing is issued and when the hearing is scheduled to take place. Make sure you regularly check your appeal portal or open any mail from the CUIAB or EDD right away, so you learn about the hearing date as early as possible and have time to prepare.
Record of Claim Status Interview
Often included as part of the appeal file.
This is a record of any conversations (usually phone calls) EDD staff had with you or your employer, and contains notes on the EDD staff person’s reasons for making the decision against you.
This can be a very important document if there is a dispute between you and your former employer.
