Make sure your friend completes her weekly claims even while waiting for the initial determination! My brother almost lost out on back benefits because he didn't realize you need to keep filing every week even before they decide if you qualify. Also tell her to be ready to provide documentation about both the pension amount and which company it comes from.

One more important thing for your friend to be aware of: once she starts receiving unemployment benefits, she'll need to complete three job search activities each week and document them. Even though she's at retirement age, if she's collecting unemployment, ESD will expect her to be actively seeking work that's similar to her previous position. Make sure she knows to keep detailed records of all job search activities.

wait i just remembered somethin else - make sure u answer YES to the "were u able and available for work" question even tho u worked that one shift. i messed that up once and had to deal with a whole thing with ESD

To summarize for the original poster and anyone else wondering about part-time earnings: 1. Always report ALL earnings in the week you WORKED (not when you get paid) 2. ESD deducts 75% of your gross earnings from your weekly benefit 3. Report actual worked hours (don't include unpaid breaks) 4. You can earn up to your weekly benefit amount and still get some UI 5. Working part-time always leaves you financially better off than not working Hope this helps!

My cousin works in IT (not for ESD) but he says most government websites are running on ancient systems and whenever they try to update security it breaks something else. Not surprised this is happening right when they're probably doing end of quarter updates or whatever.

Glad to hear the SAW portal workaround solved it for you! For anyone else still experiencing issues, ESD just posted on their website that they're aware of the login problems affecting some users and expect to have it fully resolved by tomorrow. They've extended the weekly claim filing deadline by 2 days this week to accommodate for the technical difficulties.

wat do u do if u miss the appeal deadline? i got denied 2 months ago but didnt appeal cause i didnt know how. can i still do it now??

One more important thing - when you do get your hearing scheduled, make sure to submit all your evidence before the deadline they give you (usually 1 week before the hearing). If you try to introduce new evidence during the hearing that you didn't submit ahead of time, the judge might not accept it. Also, prepare a short opening statement (2-3 minutes) that summarizes your case clearly. Practice it so you don't ramble - hearings usually only last 30-45 minutes total, and you want to make sure you cover all your important points. Finally, in my experience, the judge will usually mail the decision within 1-2 weeks after the hearing. If it's taking longer, you can call OAH (Office of Administrative Hearings) to check on the status.

Just remember that ESD is NOT on your side! They'll find ANY reason to deny your waiver request! A friend of mine got denied because she had $1,200 in her checking account when they reviewed her case - they said that meant she could afford to pay back the overpayment! BE CAREFUL what financial info you share!!!

I understand the concern, but you do need to be honest on your financial disclosure for the waiver. Providing incomplete information can result in automatic denial or even potential fraud issues. One last thing - if both your petition and waiver are denied, you can still negotiate a payment plan with ESD. They can go as low as $25-50 per month based on your financial situation. While not ideal, it's better than having the full amount sent to collections, which would impact your credit score and potentially lead to tax refund interception.