One more important thing - when your daughter has her appeal hearing (which will likely be by phone), she should: 1. Be very organized with dates and facts 2. Speak clearly and calmly 3. Answer only what is asked, don't volunteer extra information 4. If she doesn't know something, just say "I don't know" rather than guessing 5. Explain simply that it was a mistake clicking the wrong box, not an attempt to claim benefits inappropriately The Administrative Law Judges generally understand honest mistakes happen, especially with the confusing weekly claim questions.

The whole system is ridiculous. ESD makes their questions intentionally confusing so people make mistakes, then punishes them for honest errors. I've seen so many cases where people check the wrong box accidentally and then get hit with "fraud" accusations. Why don't they have a simple verification process before jumping straight to denial and overpayment?! It's not like retirement income is a secret - they could easily verify this information with other government agencies! The entire UI system is designed to deny benefits rather than help people who actually need assistance.

UPDATE: Just wanted to let everyone know I was able to file my weekly claim online through my eServices account with no problems! The site is working fine even though the phone system is still glitchy. Thanks for all the advice everyone!

this reminds me of when my claim got stuck for 3 weeks last year because of some computer error on their end... had to drive all the way to the worksource office just to get someone to help me because the phone system kept saying my social security number was invalid even though i'd been claiming for months with no problems before that.... anyway hope you got it fixed

So my claim got stuck for almost 2 months last year in February? Like literally nothing was happening for WEEKS? I finally emailed the governor AND my state rep on the same day. No idea which one did the trick but my claim was approved 3 days later! The funny thing is I got responses from both offices like a week AFTER my claim was already fixed lol. But hey it worked! So maybe try both at the same time?

Just wanted to check back - any updates? Did contacting your reps help at all?

i forgot to say my cousin said if u mention hardship like ur about to miss rent or whatever sometimes theyll put u in the urgent pile. worth a shot

UPDATE: Got through to ESD this morning using that Claimyr service (seriously took like 25 mins instead of endless redials). The agent confirmed what @ESDadjudicator said - they needed the UCT25 form. My union business agent submitted it this afternoon and the agent put a note on my claim to expedite review once received. They said I should see movement within 3-5 days. Thanks everyone for the help! Will update when it's resolved.

Just to update you - I checked the most current ESD guidelines, and for 2025, family employment exclusions only apply to certain business structures:\n\n1. Sole proprietorships: Employment of spouses, parents, or children under 18 may be excluded\n2. Partnerships: Employment of partners or their spouses, parents, or children under 18 may be excluded\n3. LLCs and Corporations: Family relationships generally don't matter - employees are employees\n\nSo if your brother's construction company is an LLC or corporation, you should be fine. If it's a sole proprietorship or partnership, there could be issues. You can find this in the ESD Employer Handbook on their website.

That's really helpful! His business is an LLC, so sounds like I should be eligible. I'm going to go ahead and apply today. Thanks everyone for all the advice!