UPDATE: I finally got through to ESD this morning! The agent confirmed I was underpaid throughout my claim. They're going to issue a supplemental payment for all weeks I claimed (23 weeks total). The difference comes out to about $1650 before taxes that I'm owed! She said it should be deposited within 5-7 business days. Thanks everyone for your help figuring this out - I would have just assumed I was out of luck if I hadn't posted here.

This is a great reminder for everyone to carefully review their initial monetary determination and compare it to the actual payments received. ESD's system doesn't always correctly apply the WBA calculation, especially if you had multiple employers or irregular earnings in your base year. For anyone else reading this: you can request a redetermination of your weekly benefit amount at any time during your benefit year if you think there's an error. Don't wait until your benefits expire like the original poster did - the sooner you catch these issues, the faster they can be resolved.

Just my two cents but absolutely file for benefits right away. Don't wait and don't let embarrassment stop you. My neighbor works for ESD (not giving advice just sharing what I've heard) and says that most people who are fired for social media stuff DO qualify unless they were directly bad-mouthing the company or sharing confidential info. Your case sounds more like a personality conflict than actual misconduct.

One more thing - if your claim does go to adjudication, make sure you respond to ALL communication from ESD immediately. Missing a deadline or failing to provide requested information is the fastest way to get denied. Set up eServices alerts so you don't miss anything important. And if you need to, use the ESD secure message system to provide additional context about the situation.

also make sure you didnt accidentally answer something wrong on your weekly claims. i said NO to being able and available one week cause i was confused about what they were asking and it held up ALL my payments for weeks

One thing to keep in mind - if your claim is delayed beyond 3 weeks, you have a right to know why. Request a status update through your eServices account by sending a secure message. Sometimes this alone can trigger someone to look at your claim. Also, double-check that your job search activities are meeting the 3 required activities per week and that you're documenting them properly. Inadequate job search information is a common reason for delays. But from what you've described, this sounds like the normal verification process that happens with new claims. The system is telling you to continue filing weekly claims because that's exactly what you should do - it's good advice.

Im in construction and get paid for diffrent jobs at all diffrent times, sometimes weeks later!!!! I always just report the hours when i work them and never had a problem with esd. your doing it right!!

Everyone here is correct - you report wages in the week they were earned, regardless of when payment is received. This is covered in the ESD handbook under the "How to Report Earnings" section. The reason for this policy is to maintain consistency in how unemployment benefits are calculated and to ensure that claimants aren't penalized due to employer payment schedules, which can vary widely. Keep in mind that when you report earnings, you should report gross wages (before taxes and deductions) for the week in which the work was performed. If you performed work over multiple weeks but received a lump sum payment, you should divide the earnings according to when the work was actually done. If you ever receive a questionable determination or notice about this issue, you have the right to appeal within 30 days.

Is this your first time on unemployment? That often takes longer. Also make sure you're doing your required job search activities (3 per week) and documenting them properly, or your weekly claims won't be valid once adjudication is complete.

UPDATE: My claim was finally approved! Just logged in this morning and saw my status changed from adjudication to paid. All 4 weeks of backpay are scheduled for deposit tomorrow. They never contacted me or asked for anything additional - it just suddenly processed. For anyone else waiting, hang in there! And thanks everyone for your advice and support.