Just got some good news - my overpayment waiver was finally approved after fighting with ESD for months! They're refunding the $5,800 I had to pay back, which is a huge relief. But I'm confused about something else - during that whole mess, there were 3 weeks where my claims were filed but never paid because of the investigation. Now that my waiver is approved, will those unpaid weeks automatically process too? Or do I need to contact ESD specifically about those? Anyone been through this who knows how it works? The notification letter doesn't mention anything about unpaid weeks, just the refund for what I already paid back.

I'm in a total nightmare with ESD right now. They're demanding I repay around $22,500 in benefits from COVID times when schools were closed. I've worked in education for years and here's what happened: When schools started reopening in 2020, my original school was extremely vague about my position. I kept asking HR what my job would look like when they reopened, but got nothing concrete. Meanwhile, I was juggling childcare issues (my daycare had multiple COVID exposures) and family health concerns. I ended up accepting a position at another school district where I'd worked before. There was maybe a 10-day gap between these jobs. I was fully transparent with ESD about everything! Fast forward to last year, and suddenly ESD claims I voluntarily quit my first school job (not laid off due to COVID). They had a hearing where the HR rep from my first school district COMPLETELY LIED about the circumstances. I provided screenshots of texts and emails proving I was given no clear return option, but the judge basically said "schools don't lie" and sided with them. The ridiculous part is that most of my benefits were from when schools were completely CLOSED, and the rest were from when I was part-time at the second district before being laid off when my assigned student moved away. I eventually returned to full-time work as soon as schools fully reopened. I worked with an unemployment law attorney who was shocked that I'm being asked to repay ALL benefits when only a week or two could possibly be disputed from that first school transition. I filed for a waiver because I followed EVERY rule, called ESD whenever I was unsure about anything, and did nothing unethical. I was finally getting back on my feet financially after the pandemic chaos, and now this bomb drops. Anyone successfully fight an overpayment case against ESD when a former employer lied? How detailed do I need to be in my waiver request?

Just got disqualified for UI benefits because my employer reported that I was fired for 'misconduct.' I'm absolutely floored - what they're calling misconduct was a misunderstanding about inventory procedures that happened after they changed the system without proper training. I worked there for 4 years with zero issues! Has anyone gone through the appeal process with ESD? Do I seriously need to hire a lawyer? I can barely pay my bills now, let alone legal fees. Also wondering if it's even worth appealing since I've heard ESD usually sides with employers. Would appreciate any advice from people who've successfully appealed misconduct disqualifications.

My husband is dealing with a massive ESD overpayment notice ($8,700) that came out of nowhere last month. Here's what makes ZERO sense... he actually had a hearing with OAH against his former employer and WON that case. The employer tried claiming he quit, but the judge ruled it was a layoff and he qualified for benefits. Now, 9 months later, ESD is saying he didn't verify his identity properly?? We uploaded his driver's license, social security card, and utility bill exactly as requested. Filed the appeal paperwork within the 30-day window back in January. It's been almost 2 months and we've heard NOTHING back. We're supposed to file our taxes soon but I'm terrified they'll intercept our entire refund for this bogus overpayment. If he calls ESD directly about this mess, will they actually help resolve it or just demand payment? Has anyone successfully fought an ID verification overpayment? This feels like a complete nightmare.

I'm really confused about an ESD letter I just got. I was out of town for a week last month and only completed one job search activity that week (instead of the required three). I noted this on my weekly claim and wasn't paid for that week, which I totally understand. But now I've received a letter from ESD asking specifically about job search activities #2 and #3 for that same week they didn't pay me for. Should I just write back explaining I was out of town? I'm confused why they're inquiring about this since they already didn't pay me for that week. Has anyone dealt with this before? I don't want to mess up my future benefits by responding incorrectly.