One additional note: when you do finally reach an agent, ask them to document in your file that you've been attempting to contact ESD regularly. This can be important if they try to say you were non-responsive to some request you never received. Also, make sure you have a clear and accurate record of your last employer, including the correct business name (sometimes the legal name is different from what employees call it), their ESD reference number if you have it, and exact dates of employment. Having these details ready can sometimes help them clear up issues on the spot. Keep in mind that adjudicators and regular ESD agents are different - regular agents can see what's causing the hold but often can't adjudicate the claim themselves. However, they CAN add notes to your file that the adjudicator will see, which is why being specific about your situation when you do reach someone is so important.

UPDATE: I finally got through to ESD this morning! Called about 40 times starting at exactly 8am. The agent confirmed my employer DID respond promptly (not the issue) but apparently there was a discrepancy between the reason for separation I listed (layoff) and some auto-categorization in their system that flagged it as "lack of work" which are technically different things in their system. The agent added detailed notes to my file and said an adjudicator should contact me within 3-5 business days. Fingers crossed this actually happens! Will update when I hear more.

@profile5 They scheduled a phone interview with me about a week after I submitted all my documents. The interview only lasted about 15 minutes - they just verified a few details about when I worked vs when I was paid. Have all your documentation ready when they call!

UPDATE: I finally got through to ESD today! The agent confirmed I was right - they were looking at my payment dates instead of when I actually performed the work. They're going to correct those weeks and release the payments. For anyone with similar issues - definitely keep detailed records of when you actually do the work vs when you get paid, especially if you're a contractor or have irregular payment schedules!

my cousin works at a temp place and he just puts "no work available" when he files his weekly claim. maybe try that next time??

FINAL UPDATE: I used Claimyr this morning and got through to ESD in about 30 minutes! The agent was really helpful and found TWO problems: 1) The temp agency had reported my husband as having "quit" when he actually just wasn't given any more assignments. The agent corrected this and removed the disqualification. 2) They had miscalculated his base year by using 2025 Q1-Q4 instead of including the higher-paying Q4 2024. They're fixing this too and said his weekly benefit should go back up. The agent said both issues should be resolved within 72 hours and any missed payments will be back-paid. Such a relief! For anyone dealing with temp agency work, make sure you select "lack of work/no work available" not "voluntary leave" when filing weekly claims. And THANK YOU everyone for your help - this forum literally saved us from disaster.

Update: FINALLY got through to ESD today! Used the Claimyr service that was suggested here (thanks for that tip!) and was connected to an agent in about 30 minutes. The agent confirmed my appeal victory was in their system but said it hadn't been properly "implemented" yet. She put in a request to expedite the processing and said I should see all my backpay within 3-5 business days. She also explained that appeal decisions don't automatically trigger payments - a claims specialist has to manually review and release them. Apparently they're working through a backlog right now. Finger crossed I'll see the money soon! Will update when it hits my account.

FINAL UPDATE: The money hit my account this morning! All 8 weeks of backpay plus the current week. What a relief! Timeline for anyone searching in the future: - Appeal hearing: May 3 - Decision received: May 7 - Called and spoke to agent: May 18 - Payment received: May 23 So it took 16 days from decision to payment, but honestly I think it would have taken much longer if I hadn't called and had the agent manually expedite it. Thanks everyone for your help!

my cousin had this exact same problem and ESD ended up denying his backpay for weeks that were more than a month old even though he had a really good reason for not filing earlier. the whole system is designed to deny benefits!!! they make everything so complicated on purpose!!!

One thing nobody has mentioned yet - when you file for that November week, make sure you report ALL work and earnings accurately, including the temp work you did between October and November. If your earnings for any week exceed your weekly benefit amount, you won't receive benefits for that week, but you still need to report it all correctly. Also, depending on how long you worked at those temp jobs and how much you earned, it might affect your benefit year or weekly benefit amount. The system recalculates based on recent work history. Good luck with your claim! Let us know how it turns out.