Just curious - did you select "laid off" as your reason for separation from your current job? Sometimes people accidentally select the wrong reason which creates unnecessary adjudication.

One more thing to note - if your claim goes to adjudication, you'll likely receive a fact-finding interview request. This could be a phone call or questionnaire. Be completely honest, but frame your reasons clearly. For the job after your father's passing, emphasize the emotional impact and inability to perform work duties effectively. For the job you left for better opportunities, detail the specific improvements in pay, benefits, and working conditions. Most importantly, respond to ALL ESD communications promptly. Missing a fact-finding deadline can result in automatic denial.

my cousin works at esd (not suppose to say this lol) but she says their computer system auto-denies TONS of valid claims and then the appeals backlog is crazy right now!!! like 12 weeks behind!!! might be faster to just try calling over and over until u get a actual person who can fix it without appeal. good luck!!!

Any update on your situation? Did sending the paystubs work? I'm still dealing with my mess and wondering if I should try something different.

my cousin had this same problem last month and he said what worked was logging in very early in the morning like 5am when the system isnt busy. also make sure ur using a laptop not phone, the mobile site is terrible

Just following up - were you able to get your claim started? If you're still having issues, remember that once you do get your partial unemployment claim approved, you'll need to: 1. File a weekly claim every week, even with reduced hours 2. Report ALL earnings for the week accurately 3. Be aware that your first week is a waiting week (unpaid) 4. If you requested standby status, you'll still need to be available for any work your regular employer might offer Also, with partial unemployment, you can earn up to 1/3 of your weekly benefit amount without reduction. After that, your benefit is reduced dollar for dollar. This is important to calculate so you understand what your payments will be.

my friend had a claim stuck forever last month and he went to his WorkSource office in person and they helped him figure out what was going on. might be worth trying if the phone calls aren't working??

UPDATE: I want to thank everyone who replied! Based on your advice, I: 1. Uploaded my old and new schedules showing the hours reduction 2. Found and uploaded an email where I questioned the reduction 3. Uploaded my final paystub 4. Contacted my state representative's office (they were super helpful!) 5. Used Claimyr to finally speak with an actual ESD agent The agent confirmed my documents were received and that my claim is being prioritized now. She said the hours reduction definitely qualifies as good cause, especially since I had documentation. The legislative inquiry seems to have helped too. The agent said I should see movement within a week! I'll update again when I hear more, but wanted to thank this community for the guidance when I was feeling completely lost.

Update: I talked with my attorney again and we're definitely going to file the waiver request. She says even though the decision says it can't be waived, that only applies to the appeal itself, not to the separate waiver process. I'll gather all my financial documents and proof that I reported correctly to include with the request. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's given me hope that this might work out after all!

Sorta off topic but did your lawyer charge a lot to help with the ESD stuff? My husband is dealing with a similar issue ($4800 overpayment) and we're wondering if hiring an attorney is worth it or if we should just handle it ourselves.