Does anyone know how long these appeal hearings usually last? My friend just went through one and said it was only like 20 minutes, seems way too short to explain everything!

I work in HR (different state) and from the employer perspective, this sounds like a badly handled termination that they're now trying to classify as a quit to avoid the UI claim. That's actually against the rules. If they initiated the separation convo by saying "we're letting you go" then it's THEIR decision regardless of whether your husband offered to give notice afterward. One question - did they give any reason for letting him go? If it was something like "position elimination" or "restructuring" that would further support your case that it wasn't a quit.

yeah they ended up paying me everything but it was super stressful waiting! i almost missed a car payment. hope u get yours fixed faster!!

Update: I managed to get through to ESD this morning! Called right at 8:00 AM like someone here suggested and only waited about 20 minutes. The person I spoke with was actually helpful and explained that my adjudications were for: 1. Job separation issue (my employer is claiming I quit) 2. Potential availability issue (because I mentioned possibly taking classes) 3. Wage verification (they need paystubs from a previous job) She expedited my claim due to financial hardship and consolidated the issues under one adjudicator. She said I should hear something within 5-7 business days! Thank you all for your advice - it really helped me understand what was going on and how to address it.

Something else to consider - filing deadlines for Supreme Court are SUPER strict. Missing even by one day means automatic loss. Make sure you're counting calendar days not business days. Also remember you need to serve ESD's attorneys too, not just file with court.

One last suggestion - check if any law schools in your area have legal clinics. Sometimes they take on interesting cases like yours as teaching opportunities for law students (supervised by professors). Might be worth a call to see if they'd be interested, especially since multiple attorneys think your case has merit.

my cousin didnt file his last week and said it was way easier just to be done with ESD forever lol. but i think he missed out on like $200 so probably worth doing it right

One more thing to keep in mind: After you file that partial week claim, there's a section at the end where you can indicate that you've returned to full-time work. Make sure to check that box or select that option. This lets ESD know they should close your claim properly. It helps prevent any confusion down the road and makes things smoother if you ever need to apply for benefits again in the future.

Just to ease your mind about the deadline - even if you can't resolve this by the weekly claim deadline, ESD can and will backdate your claim once the error is fixed. Make sure you document all your attempts to file (screenshots of errors, etc.). The key is to keep trying to file and to contact them about the issue before the deadline passes. That way they can see you made a good faith effort to file on time.

UPDATE: Finally got this resolved! I used the Claimyr service that someone recommended here, and it actually worked! Got through to an agent in about 30 minutes. She confirmed TempForce had submitted incorrect quarterly wage data that included me in January even though I stopped working there in December. She removed the error and I was able to file my weekly claim while still on the phone with her. Such a relief! Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions.