Sorry your dealing with this! When I called the governors office back in February, they took about 8 days to contact me. But then things moved SUPER fast after that - my claim was fixed within 48 hours! Make sure you tell them if you have pets too because I mentioned I couldn't afford my dogs food and medicine and I think that made them move faster honestly. Good luck!!

Thanks for the encouragement! I actually do have a cat who needs medication, so I'll definitely make sure to mention that if I need to follow up. It's good to hear things moved quickly once they contacted you.

Here's a tip that might save you time: sometimes these educational employee denials can be reversed more quickly by speaking directly with an adjudicator rather than going through the full appeal process. When you call ESD (which is admittedly difficult), specifically ask for your claim to be reviewed by an adjudicator regarding the educational employee provision. Emphasize that you were a temporary employee without reasonable assurance. Some adjudicators can overturn these decisions on the spot when they see it was clearly misapplied to a temp worker.

Just wanted to share that I had a similar issue last year as a part-time admin at a university. The key to getting it resolved was documenting everything about the temporary nature of my position. I collected emails from my supervisor confirming my assignment end date, my original job offer showing the temporary status, and the fact that there was no guarantee of future employment. My appeal was approved in about 4 weeks. In the meantime, I struggled financially, but I kept filing my weekly claims as required. When I finally won, I received all my back payments in one lump sum. For those struggling to reach ESD by phone, I eventually used Claimyr.com after wasting days trying to get through. Their service put me in line and called me back when an agent was available. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 The agent I spoke with was actually really helpful and flagged my case for expedited review once I explained my situation. Sometimes reaching a human makes all the difference!

Thanks everyone for all the helpful information! I'm going to try calling tomorrow to see if I can get the overpayment percentage reduced before they start taking it out. Hopefully my claim processes quickly without any issues. I'll update here when I find out more for anyone who might be in the same boat.

Has ANYONE ever successfully gotten through to ESD on the first try?? I swear their phone system is DESIGNED to be impossible! Last time I needed to talk to someone it took me TWO WEEKS of calling multiple times a day!

Just wanted to add some context on why these waivers are taking so long currently. ESD implemented a new case management system in late 2025 that created a backlog of waiver reviews. They've also been dealing with a surge of new overpayment cases due to the automated cross-matching with employer wage reports. The current staff handling waivers is about half what it was two years ago. This isn't to excuse the delays, but to help you understand you're not being singled out - it's a systemic issue affecting thousands of claimants right now. One thing I do recommend is checking that your contact information is up-to-date in the system. Sometimes they've tried to reach people for additional information but had outdated phone numbers or email addresses.

UPDATE: I tried calling the collections option this morning right at 8am and actually got through to someone after about 45 minutes! The agent confirmed my waiver is still pending review but added notes to my account about my financial hardship and put a temporary hold on collections for 30 days. She said that should give enough time for the waiver team to review my case. She couldn't guarantee approval but at least I know they haven't lost my paperwork and collections won't start immediately. Thank you all for your helpful advice! I'll update again once I hear the final decision.

I checked back to see if you'd had any progress. Based on your latest comments, you have a strong case for a quick resolution IF your employer moves quickly and you can get through to ESD. Since you're still working reduced hours, this should qualify as a partial unemployment claim. Make sure you're accurately reporting your part-time earnings each week when you file. Have you had any luck getting through to ESD by phone yet?

I used Claimyr last month when I had an adjudication issue and it worked really well. Got connected to an ESD agent in about 20 minutes instead of trying for days. The agent was able to see notes on my account that weren't visible to me online and fixed my issue while I was on the phone. Definitely worth it when you're in a time-critical situation like this.