I saw someone mention they tried Claimyr earlier in this thread - I used it last week and it actually worked pretty well. Got a callback in about an hour and was able to sort out my adjudication issue. Beats spending days redialing.

Update: I just had another question come up about my job search requirements and managed to get through to ESD again this morning. Called at 8:03am, waited about 35 minutes. The agent confirmed that right now they're training new phone staff so the wait times should actually improve over the next few weeks. Fingers crossed they're right! Also, make sure you're not calling on a holiday - I made that mistake last month and wasted a bunch of time before realizing they were closed.

dont worry to much about the job search stuff when ur going back to work. just put that u looked at the union job board and checked indeed and ur good

Update: Finally got through to ESD this morning after trying the different browser suggestion (plus using that Claimyr service someone mentioned). They confirmed I should select 'temporarily laid off' and enter my return date. The agent submitted a backdate request for my Christmas week too! She said standby status is now mainly for employer-requested situations with special circumstances, and most construction workers with 1-2 week gaps should just do the job search requirements. Thanks everyone for your help!

WHY DOES ESD MAKE EVERYTHING SO COMPLICATED?!!!! I had this EXACT same issue and had to call 67 TIMES before someone would help me! Their system is DESIGNED to make people give up on getting their benefits! The fact that it just silently fails without telling you there's missing information is criminal negligence!!

I had a similar issue but mine was because I had the wrong account number not routing number. They ended up sending paper checks instead for like a month before I figured it out. Maybe check your mail?

One additional thing to note: ESD has specific rules about when they can and cannot accept late employer responses, outlined in WAC 192-130-065. The rule states that an employer's response may be considered if received within 30 days of the mailing of the Notice to Base Year Employer, if good cause is established. What this means for you: Your employer's 10-day late response is technically still within the extended timeframe allowed by regulation. However, they should have been required to establish "good cause" for their lateness. If you do speak with an ESD agent, you can specifically ask if the employer provided good cause for their late response as required by WAC 192-130-065. If they didn't, you have grounds to request that their late response not be considered. This might be helpful information for your adjudication interview.

Update: I wanted to share what finally worked for me in case it helps others in a similar situation. I tried everything suggested here - calling repeatedly (never got through), contacting my state representative (they sent an inquiry but I didn't hear back), and submitting additional documentation through my eServices account. What finally worked was using Claimyr to get through to an actual ESD agent. I was skeptical, but after 5 weeks in adjudication with no progress, I was desperate. The service connected me to an ESD agent in about 30 minutes. The agent was actually very helpful and explained that my employer had claimed I quit voluntarily, which contradicted my layoff documentation. She scheduled an adjudication interview for the following week and flagged my case for priority review due to the lengthy delay. I had my adjudication interview yesterday, was able to present all my evidence, and got approved today! All benefits are being paid retroactively. If anyone else is stuck in adjudication limbo, don't give up. Keep excellent records, continue filing weekly claims, and find a way to speak with an actual human at ESD who can see what's happening with your claim.

my friend works at esd (not saying more than that) and says they're supposed to respond to governor inquiries within 48hrs but nobody gets in trouble when they don't. its all about which agent gets assigned to your case. some are good some dgaf

Quick update for everyone following this thread: ESD recently changed their processing priorities. They're now responding to governor's office inquiries within 3-5 business days for simple issues, but employer disputes like yours are taking 7-10 business days because they need to contact the employer for their side. This change happened in February 2025, so some older posts about getting immediate results after contacting the governor's office are no longer reflecting current timeframes.