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One important thing to note - if the pandemic waiver is approved, ESD should return any money they've intercepted from tax refunds. But the timeline is unpredictable. I've seen it take anywhere from 2-8 months after waiver approval for refunds to be processed. Make sure you keep documentation of everything, including your tax returns and any communication from ESD about the waiver.
Thank you everyone for the advice! We've decided to file separately this year to protect my refund, even though it'll cost us some tax benefits. We'll keep pursuing the pandemic waiver for his overpayment, but at least this way we'll have my refund for our immediate needs. I'm documenting EVERYTHING in case we need to fight for his refund later. This system is so frustrating!
Smart decision! Make sure you both carefully check your filing status on each return - they need to match (both filing as 'married filing separately'). And remember you'll each need to either both itemize deductions or both take the standard deduction when using this filing status.
I waited 9 WEEKS for my claim to move!!! Governor's office was no help at all for me. What finally worked was I sent a message through eServices every single day for a week straight, each time adding "Day X of message attempts" in the subject line. On day 7 someone finally called me. The squeaky wheel gets the grease sometimes!
I've sent 4 messages already over the past 6 weeks with no response. Did you say anything specific in your messages that seemed to finally get their attention?
I kept it simple but I was VERY specific about my hardship situation. I literally wrote about having to choose between medicine and food, and listed exactly what bills I couldn't pay because of their delay. I think the daily messages plus the escalating subject line ("Day 5 of urgent messages - facing eviction") finally got someone's attention. Good luck!
One more thing - when you call the Governor's office, ask them to create a "constituent services case number" for your inquiry. That way you can reference this case number in follow-up calls, which shows you're serious and keeping track. Follow up after 3-5 business days if you don't hear anything from ESD. The system works, but sometimes you need to be persistent and methodical.
dont forget you need to be looking for full time work even while doing contract stuff!!! esd still requires the 3 job search activities every week
Yes, that's correct. Unless you're specifically approved for standby status (which is rare these days), you must continue performing and documenting three job search activities each week regardless of part-time or contract work. The job search requirement is tied to receiving any amount of benefits, even partial benefits. Make sure to keep detailed records of all your job search activities in case of an audit.
Andre Moreau
This is actually correct. The online system works best with Chrome and Edge. If you're using Safari or Firefox, you might encounter more sync issues. The phone system is more consistent but the tradeoff is the delay in database updates.
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Aisha Mahmood
UPDATE: Just wanted to let everyone know my claim finally updated to 'submitted' in the online system! It took about 20 hours, but at least now I know everything is working correctly. Thanks to everyone for the reassurance and helpful information. I'll definitely keep filing by phone since it works for me, but now I know not to panic if the online status doesn't update right away.
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