My question involves unemployment benefits for the state of: CA
Hi. I received a notice of determination from EDD stating that I got disqualified for UI benefit due to
1. self-employed during the normal working hours for my occupation.
I reported freelance earning of $999.99, for website content writing in LA, total 30 hours a week in the same week when I received pay check of $3,000. I worked on the same project even in the previous week but didn’t report until I got paid because I figured there was no earning and I was going to report the earning later anyway.
2. willfully makes a false statement or withhold information.
EDD thought I got employed based on the freelance earning above and I mistakenly missed the phone interview to explain that it was just a random freelance job.
My point is that I am still eligible to work or look for work since I was never employed by any employer nor self-employed with regular income. Also I never intentionally missed the phone interview to hide any information.
Question 1: some people say I should not even bother filing an appeal because it can get worse because I didn’t report the work until I got paid. Is that true?
Question 2: so if Q1 is true, and I don’t file an appeal. Will EDD drop it as I accept the disqualification or come back at me regardless in the future?
Question 3: say yes to Q1 and I file an appeal providing all the info including the pay rate and duration. Will EDD charge me for over payment due to the fact that I only reported portion of total pay? I feel like I should be entitled for the benefit but not sure if it's even worth filing an appeal if things will get worse.
Thanks for you advice.

