anyone else notice ESD always says 'paid' way before it actually pays?? like why even have that status if it doesnt mean anything lol

Actually, 'paid' means ESD has processed the payment on their end and sent the payment instruction to the bank or card processor. It doesn't mean the money has arrived in your account yet. There are multiple systems involved: ESD's payment system, the ACH transfer network, and your bank's processing system. Each step takes time. From what you've described, I think you'll see the money very soon. First payments almost always take longer than subsequent ones. Once you're in their regular payment cycle, it becomes much more predictable.

btw make sure u keep filing ur weekly claims during all this waiting or you'll have to start all over again

I went through this exact thing in February! The 2-day wait is just bureaucratic procedure. After that, they'll escalate your claim, but don't sit back and wait! I kept following up every 3 days with both the Governor's office AND my state representative. Eventually my rep's office assigned me a caseworker who had direct contacts at ESD. My claim was fixed 9 days after initial contact with the Governor's office, but I honestly think it was my state rep who made it happen faster. One thing to keep in mind: the escalation just gets someone to look at your claim sooner, it doesn't guarantee approval. Whatever issue put you in adjudication still needs to be resolved. Make sure you've uploaded all requested documents to your ESD account!

Look into a 401k LOAN instead of a withdrawal if your plan allows it. You avoid the tax penalties, and you're basically borrowing from yourself. The interest you pay goes back into your own account. Much better option if you can swing it.

Update on your question about weekly claims - if your claim is in adjudication, you should STILL be filing weekly claims every week while you wait. Many people don't realize this. If you haven't been filing, start immediately and try to file for any missed weeks (though there's a limited window for backdating).

all these goverment agencies are the same... take forever to give u what's yours but expect immediate payment when they want something from u lol just wait it out

UPDATE: I finally managed to get through to someone at ESD this morning! For anyone dealing with this in the future - the rep told me that waiver refunds are indeed processed separately from regular benefits and take 30-45 days to process. She confirmed mine was approved and in the system, and should be deposited within the next 7-10 days. She also noted that they're currently dealing with a backlog of waiver refunds from a recent system update. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions!

this happened to my roomate! turned out hed been approved but then they randomly decided to put him in adjudication (whatever that is) but the system still said paid. he had to send in like his ID and social security card and stuff. took forever. but yeah the call thing is impossible, he never got thru.

UPDATE: Finally got through this morning!!! Called the claims center number that @practical_solution suggested at exactly 7:00am and got the high volume message 6 times in a row, but on the 7th try I actually got placed in a queue! Waited for 47 minutes but finally spoke to a very helpful agent named Marcus. Turns out my payments were on hold because of a "quarterly review" flag that happened automatically due to some previous W2 wages. The ridiculous part is that there was NOTHING in my online account showing this hold - it all looked perfectly normal and said "paid"! Marcus removed the hold and said my payments should arrive within 48 hours. He also said this is a "known issue" with their system right now where holds don't display properly online. So frustrating but at least it's fixed now. Thanks everyone for your help!