Thank you all for the helpful advice! I'm going to file my initial claim tomorrow and make sure I carefully document everything about the harassment complaint, the extended home assignment with no communication, and my attempts to get updates. Based on your suggestions, I'll: 1. Select "quit" but indicate employer actions made continued work impossible 2. Include documentation of all my attempts to resolve the situation 3. Be prepared for a possible appeal if denied initially 4. Consider using Claimyr if I need to speak with an actual person at ESD I'll update this thread once I hear anything about my claim. Wish me luck!

One final piece of advice - when you do get to the adjudication interview (they'll schedule a phone call), be very careful about how you explain your decision to quit. Avoid saying things like "I thought they were going to fire me" as that can be interpreted as quitting to avoid discharge, which usually isn't considered good cause. Instead, focus on: 1. The harassment you experienced 2. The company's failure to provide a timeline for investigation resolution 3. The professional limbo affecting your career progression 4. The emotional/psychological impact of being isolated without communication Stick to facts, dates, and documented attempts to resolve the situation. Good luck!

To answer your follow-up question about job search requirements - yes, he needs to start looking for work and recording his job search activities immediately. There is no automatic standby period when a business closes. He needs to complete at least 3 job search activities each week and document them. The only exceptions would be if: 1. He's in an approved training program 2. He specifically applies for and is granted standby status (typically for temporary layoffs where the employer plans to recall workers) 3. He has a definite return-to-work date within 4 weeks from an employer Since the business closed entirely, #2 and #3 wouldn't apply. So yes, job search requirements are in effect from week one.

Also if ur worried about waiting too long make sure he answers those fact-finding questionares ASAP. I got one about my job search activities that took me 3 days to notice and it delayed my claim by like 2 weeks!!

I hate to say it, but 14 weeks is a long time even by ESD standards. If nobody is giving you a straight answer, you might want to consider filing for an adjudicative hearing. You have the right to appeal the "non-action" on your claim. It sounds extreme, but sometimes filing the appeal paperwork is what finally gets someone to look at your claim. Go to your eServices account, look for the "Submit an Appeal" option, and in your explanation say you're appealing the unreasonable delay in processing your redetermination. Include that it's been 14 weeks, you're facing eviction, and you've made multiple attempts to resolve it through normal channels. This creates a formal legal timeline that ESD has to respond to. I've seen it work when nothing else would.

UPDATE: I tried calling the main ESD number this morning at exactly 8:00am and asked for a Tier 3 specialist like someone suggested. After being transferred twice, I finally got someone who actually gave me some useful information! Apparently my former employer's final quarterly tax report showed different wages than what I reported on my application. Since the company went out of business, they're having trouble verifying which numbers are correct. The agent put a note in my file flagging it as a hardship case and said a specialist would review it within 5 business days. I'm also going to try the Claimyr service that was mentioned and file that appeal just to cover all bases. Thank you all for the suggestions - this has been the most progress I've made in months!

After struggling with the ESD phone lines for weeks, I finally got through last month and asked this exact question about temp work. The agent told me that taking temporary work is actually ENCOURAGED by ESD and will not negatively impact your existing claim. When the temp job ends, you'll need to reopen your claim. The claims agent will ask if you're still unemployed through no fault of your own, and a scheduled end to temporary work fits that criteria perfectly. Regarding the commute - the agent said they consider reasonable commutes to be up to 1 hour one-way in the first 8 weeks of unemployment, then up to 30 minutes after that. So timing matters too!

i think ur overthinking this. if the temp job pays ok just take it. they might even hire u permanent if u do good. unemployment is only like max $1100 a week anyway and dealing with esd is SUCH a pain!!

This is usually just a timing issue. ESD's payment system and the banking ACH transfer system don't always sync up perfectly. Here's what's happening behind the scenes: - ESD marks your payment as "paid" in their system when they initiate the transfer - The payment then goes through the ACH (Automated Clearing House) network - Depending on when ESD's daily batch processing occurs, your payment might not actually hit the ACH system until late in the day - If the ACH transfer is initiated after your bank's daily processing cutoff (often around 3-5pm), it won't show up until the next business day I work in financial services and see this confusion all the time. 99% of the time, your money will show up within 1-2 business days after ESD marks it paid. The first two might have shown up same-day because they were processed earlier in ESD's batch cycle. If it doesn't appear by Thursday, then you should contact ESD to make sure they have the correct banking information on file.

any update? did ur money show up?