when i was on unemployment last year i had this same question! i ended up just downloading the payment history and making my own spreadsheet to keep track of everything because the esd website is so confusing. helped me catch when they underpaid me one week too!

my sister just went thru this. she thought she was gettin $844 but was only gettin like $720 something. she called and they said its bcuz she owes child support LOL she was so mad

Thank you! I'll definitely try the 7:59am trick tomorrow. It's so frustrating that they need documentation but don't tell us what they need. Did they send you any notices in your eServices inbox about the missing documents?

Nope! That was the most frustrating part. They claimed they sent me a letter in the mail (which I never received) and there was NOTHING in my eServices messages. The whole system needs a complete overhaul. Good luck tomorrow - hope you get through!

When I was getting unemployment my brother was getting married and I had to go to california for the wedding but I was worried about answering the able and available question that week and if I would get in trouble for being out of state briefly but my claim was fine and nothing bad happened. Sorry this isnt about training but similar worry I guess

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! I feel much better about this now. I'll continue to mark "no" for that question since these are just short professional development courses and not a formal training program. I'll still be fully available for dispatches, which seems to be the key factor. Really appreciate all the advice!

Have you checked with your previous employers to make sure they properly reported your wages to ESD? I had an issue where my employer had me classified wrong in their system (as a 1099 instead of W-2), so none of those hours were showing up in the ESD system. Took some back and forth with the HR department but they eventually fixed it on their end.

I went through this exact nightmare last year. My determination letter was missing almost 850 hours from two different employers! After three appeal letters with no response, I finally got through to someone on the phone who explained that sometimes hours don't transfer properly in their system if there's ANY discrepancy in how your name or SSN was entered by different employers (like using a middle initial at one job but not another). Request a copy of your wage and hour history report directly from ESD. Compare that to your actual work records. If there's a mismatch, you'll need documentation from each employer confirming your actual hours worked. Time-consuming but it worked for me.

Just saw ur other comments - if u didn't document the HR convo ur gonna have a hard time. My friend went thru this and the employer straight up LIED about what they had told him. Its ur word against theirs... try to find any coworkers who might have overheard anything?

Regardless of how strong your case is, appeal and continue filing weekly claims while you're waiting. The appeal process in 2025 is taking about 6-8 weeks right now from filing to hearing date. That's a long time to go without income, so you should also look into emergency assistance programs like basic food benefits and HEN referrals for housing assistance while you wait. If you're dealing with substance use issues, there might be additional support services available to you.