my cousin works at worksorce and she said they had a big system crash on sunday night. something about a database update gone wrong. shes not in IT but thats what shes hearing from her manager

UPDATE: Website is working again! Just successfully submitted my claim this morning. Looks like they fixed whatever the issue was. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions!

Based on your additional information about receiving benefits in 2023, it's very likely this is a new overpayment related to that claim period. This is important because: 1. You'll need to address both overpayments separately 2. The waiver criteria may be different for the 2023 claim vs. your 2021 claim 3. If approved for a waiver on one, it doesn't automatically apply to the other When you call ESD, make sure you get complete information about: - The exact weeks this new overpayment covers - The specific reason for the determination (failure to report earnings, job search requirements, etc.) - How this impacts your current repayment plan for the 2021 overpayment - Whether you can set up a consolidated repayment plan if both overpayments are valid Documentation is crucial here - write down the name of the agent you speak with and request that detailed notes be added to your file about your call.

One more thing to check - look at any messages in your eServices account. Sometimes ESD sends important notices there but doesn't email you about them. There might be more details about this new overpayment that could help you understand what's happening before you call. Also, when you do call, ask specifically if you qualify for an overpayment waiver based on financial hardship. Since 2023, ESD has expanded their criteria for waivers, especially for people already dealing with financial difficulties. If your income is below a certain threshold compared to your expenses, you might qualify to have some or all of the overpayment waived. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

did u try applying for hardship at ur school? sometimes they have emergency money for students about to be evicted

After my hearing (I won btw), the judge told me that school + work cases often come down to these factors: 1. Is your school schedule flexible? 2. Do you have a history of working while in school? 3. Have you turned down any work because of school? 4. Is your field of study related to your work history? Make sure you address all these points during your hearing. And be super direct - don't ramble or they'll get annoyed.

Everyone's situation is different with ESD. When I applied after being laid off from my third job in a year, they ended up asking about ALL of my previous jobs and why I left each one. The adjudicator told me they're supposed to only look at the most recent job, but sometimes they look back further if they see a pattern they're concerned about. Just something to be aware of.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful responses! I'm going to go ahead and apply, making sure to be honest about all my job separations but focusing on the details of my most recent firing (no training, trying my best, etc.). I'll gather whatever documentation I can about the performance issues too. I'll update here if I run into any issues or if I get approved. Fingers crossed!

Something important to note - since you mentioned this is a suspension rather than a traditional layoff, your case might have additional complications. ESD often treats suspensions differently depending on the reason. If the suspension is for misconduct, you might be disqualified. But if it's due to a labor dispute or union-related issue where you're not at fault, you should be eligible. Make sure you've clearly documented the nature of the suspension. The adjudicator will likely contact both you and your employer to get statements, which is part of why it takes so long. The union connection adds another layer of complexity they need to investigate. As for the document upload question - I work with unemployment cases regularly, and those prompts DO stay in the system even after successful upload. It's just poorly designed UI. As long as you can see your document in the "Uploaded Documents" section, you're fine.

UPDATE: Just wanted to let everyone know that I took the advice to call ESD directly. After being unable to get through for three days, I tried the Claimyr service mentioned above. Got through to a real person in about 35 minutes! The agent told me my claim was actually just waiting for one final verification from my employer, who hadn't responded to their requests. They're sending another request and said if my employer doesn't respond within 48 hours, they'll make a determination based on the information they already have. Fingers crossed this gets resolved soon! Thanks for all the help.