Wait i'm confused... if you're not looking for work right now why even worry about the appeal? You said you stopped filing claims because you're not job hunting anymore, so you wouldn't be eligible for benefits anyway at this point, right? Or are you hoping to get retroactive payments for those 8 weeks you claimed after quitting?

One last thing to consider: if your appeal is successful and you get benefits for those 8 weeks, that could trigger an overpayment notice for any benefits you received after your contract job ended, if those were calculated on a new claim. ESD might determine you were double-dipping (using the same employment hours for two different benefit periods). This is why understanding if your contract job created a new benefit year is so important.

I work in HR and we do this occasionally. Make sure your employer reports your furlough correctly to ESD as a temporary reduction in hours rather than just not scheduling you. It makes the approval process smoother. Also, don't do ANY work that week - no emails, no phone calls. If you do even 5 minutes of work, technically it's no longer a full-week furlough under FLSA and complicates things.

One more thing to be aware of: If your benefit year from the August claim is nearing its end, make sure it hasn't expired. Benefit years last 52 weeks from when you first filed, but you can only receive benefits for a maximum of 26 weeks within that period. If you're approaching either of those limits, you might need to file a new claim rather than reactivating the old one. Check your remaining balance in eServices to confirm you have benefits available for that one week.

I had a similar reduction in hours situation in 2024 and also had my denial reversed by OAH. Just so you know what happened in my case: I got the full written decision about 5 days after seeing the 'reversed' status online. Then I had to wait about 18 days before the money actually showed up in my account. ESD's system takes time to implement the judge's decision. One weird thing - my eServices account showed 'adjudication in progress' again for about a week during this time, which freaked me out, but it was just part of their process of implementing the decision. Hang in there!

Quick follow-up: if you don't see any changes in your eServices portal within 2 weeks, you might need to contact ESD to ensure they're implementing the judge's decision. Sometimes there can be delays if they're backlogged. But in most cases, once OAH reverses a decision, ESD processes the claim within 10-14 business days. Just keep documenting all your job search activities while waiting!

I'm actually an employer but I've helped employees with this before. The rule is you need 680 hours in your new base year AND you must have returned to work and earned 6 times your weekly benefit amount since opening your previous claim. If you meet both requirements, you can file immediately without waiting for your benefit year to expire. If not, you'll need to wait until after November 9th.

Just wanted to mention that when you apply, make sure to have your employment info from your new job ready - especially your start and end dates and reason for separation. They'll verify this with your employer. Also, the first week is still a waiting week where you won't get paid - that never changed back after COVID.

The ESD system is DESIGNED to confuse people and deny them benefits!! I went through this exact situation last year and ended up with a $4,800 overpayment because they didn't explain ANY of these rules clearly. Now I'm on a payment plan for 18 months. The whole system is rigged against people trying to survive while finding work. Every agent tells you something different too.

One more important thing about gig work while on UI - make sure you're meeting the job search requirements each week (3 job search activities). Gig work doesn't automatically satisfy those requirements since it's not seeking permanent work. You still need to be looking for suitable permanent employment and documenting those efforts.

My brother got in BIG trouble with L&I cause they saw facebook pics of him volunteering at a community garden while claiming he couldnt work!!! they made him pay back like $6000!!! be careful what u post online too!!!

One final piece of advice: when you do get hold of your claim manager, ask them to document the conversation in your file. Get their email address and follow up with a summary of what was discussed. L&I claims can sometimes change hands, and having that paper trail of you actively seeking guidance shows you're acting in good faith.

anyone else notice that if you file late sunday night it seems to process faster than if you file monday morning? ive been on unemployment 3 times and swear theres a difference lol

UPDATE: My claim just moved from 'pending' to 'processing' this morning! Thanks everyone for the advice and helping me stay calm through this. I'll keep filing my weekly claims and hopefully see some payment soon. For anyone finding this post later with the same question - patience seems to be key, but definitely keep an eye on your status and be ready to take action if it goes beyond 3 weeks.

One important thing to note: Her former employer has 10 days to respond to her initial claim. If the employer contested the claim by saying she was let go due to performance issues, that would automatically trigger an adjudication process. In adjudication, both sides present their case about why the separation occurred. Since this happened right after her probation period ended, ESD might be investigating whether this was a performance-based termination (which could disqualify her) vs. a layoff due to employer needs (which would qualify her). The key is getting someone at ESD to confirm if the claim is in adjudication and what the specific issue is. Regular phone agents can see this information, but sometimes they don't volunteer it unless specifically asked.

Since your daughter is facing eviction, she should also immediately: 1. Apply for emergency rental assistance through her county's program 2. Contact 211 for other crisis resources 3. Let her landlord know she's applied for unemployment and is waiting for benefits Some landlords will work with tenants if they know there's potential income coming. She should get the eviction notice and her ESD claim information to her state representative again - be persistent and specific about the emergency nature of her situation.

Anybody else notice ESD is taking WAY longer on appeals this year??? My neibors appeal took 12 WEEKS start to finish!! system is broken!!

Update: Just received my hearing notice today - exactly 11 days after filing my appeal! The hearing is scheduled for 3 weeks from now. Thank you everyone for the advice. I'm gathering all my evidence and will submit it ahead of time as suggested. Will let you know how it goes!

my cousin works at worksource and she says this happens alot. she said sometimes its just a random audit thing where they flag one week to check your job search contacts more carefully. did u put the full phone number and contact info for all your job searches?

Update us when you find out what happened. I'm curious if it was the job search contact information issue. Once you talk to someone at ESD, they should be able to fix it right away if that's all it was.