By the way, to everyone saying it's fine - the problem isn't always about eligibility! Sometimes ESD calculates your benefit amount wrong and then realizes it later. My friend was getting $890 a week for three weeks, then suddenly they said his actual benefit was only supposed to be $670 and he had to pay back over $600! So even if you ARE approved, they can still mess up the amount and demand repayment. The whole system is just broken beyond belief.

update? did u get the official letter yet? im curious cuz im still waiting on my first payment 😩

I'm in the same boat right now actually. Mine switched to pending yesterday but I'm just gonna wait til Monday and see what happens. Last time I stressed myself out for nothing. The pending status doesn't always mean anything bad.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I think I'll wait until Monday before panicking. Sounds like this happens a lot with ESD's system showing 'pending' even when things are actually processing normally. If nothing shows up by Tuesday morning, I'll try using that Claimyr service to get through to someone. Will update here once I know what happens!

My sister had her claim completely messed up because she missed one week of filing when she didn't get an alert. ESD is so frustrating to deal with! She had to call like 50 times to get through to someone to fix it.

UPDATE: I was able to file my claim without any problems! I just went to the weekly claim section directly instead of waiting for the alert. Everything processed normally and I got my confirmation number. Seems like it's just an issue with the alert system, not the actual filing process. Thanks everyone for your quick responses and help!

Has anyone actually been able to reach ESD to get clear answers on this? I've been trying to call for TWO WEEKS about my self-employment situation and it's always "high call volume" and they hang up. It's absolutely ridiculous that they expect us to follow these complicated rules but won't answer the phone to explain them!

Thank you all so much for the helpful information! I'm going to start tracking my design work hours more carefully and report the gross earnings during the week I actually do the work. I'll make sure to stay under that 25% threshold when possible to maximize my benefits while I'm job hunting. This community has been way more helpful than the ESD website!

i had this happen back in october and i just did my job searches anyway cause i was worried about messing something up. the whole system is so complicated and they NEVER explain things clearly!! and when you try to call its impossible to get thru. its like they WANT us to make mistakes so they can deny benefits. i hate how the system treats us like we're trying to cheat when most of us are just trying to follow the rules!!!

Quick follow-up since there's some confusion in this thread. You have three options: 1. File your weekly claim, report your earnings honestly, and complete your job searches (safest option) 2. Don't file a claim for that week at all (okay if it's just 1-2 weeks) 3. File your claim, report earnings, but report no job searches (risky - could disqualify you and trigger adjudication) Option 1 is the safest, even though it requires a bit more work. Option 2 is fine for a short period. I would never recommend Option 3.

My brother had his claim stuck four months!! He called governors office and nothing happened for almost 3 weeks, then suddenly everything was fixed and he got backpay for everything. So dont give up hope but also dont expect miracles tomorrow. The system is totally broken.

One thing I learned from my experience - when your claim does get approved after adjudication, if you're owed backpay, it typically shows up 2-3 business days after the approval. Just so you can plan accordingly once you see movement on your claim status.

I don't want to scare you but BE PREPARED for them to side with your employer. My hearing was a complete joke - the judge interrupted me constantly and seemed to have made up his mind before I even spoke. The whole system is designed to deny benefits! I had to appeal the appeal and that took ANOTHER 2 months. Make sure you record the hearing (they'll tell you how) so you have evidence if you need to escalate.

Just wanted to mention - my sister works at WorkSource and she said they offer free workshops on preparing for unemployment appeal hearings. Might be worth checking if your local office has something similar? They can help you organize your evidence and practice answering the types of questions the judge might ask.

To provide some clarity on this topic: ESD processes weekly claims in batches, with the primary batch running Sunday night around 11pm. Claims submitted before this cutoff will typically be processed for payment on Monday, with funds arriving Tuesday or Wednesday depending on your bank and payment method. Submitting on Sunday at 7pm (as you did) falls well within the standard processing window. The system allows submissions until the end of the following Saturday, but this extended period is for claim validity purposes, not for timely payment processing. For most direct deposit recipients who file before the Sunday night cutoff, funds typically appear Tuesday morning. Paper checks take 2-3 additional mail days. Job search requirements and timely claim filing are separate issues - as long as you completed your 3 required job search activities during the week and reported them before the Sunday night processing batch, your payment should arrive on the normal schedule.

UPDATE: Just wanted to let everyone know my payment hit my bank account this morning as usual! Thanks for all the reassurance - seems like submitting on Sunday evening worked out fine after all. Definitely going to try to get back to my Friday morning routine though to avoid the stress!

@OP - One more thing to try: In the eServices portal, go to your profile settings and check if there's still an active flag for "In Training" or "Student Status". Sometimes you can see these flags in your profile and request a profile update directly through the portal. Not always visible, but worth checking.

To the person who suggested Claimyr - did that actually work? I'm in a similar situation (different issue, but also can't get through) and I'm desperate to talk to an actual human at ESD.

I had this happen last summer - got approved for both programs at once. What worked for me was going IN PERSON to the WorkSource office in Lacey. Even though they're separate from ESD technically, the supervisor there was able to call an internal ESD number and get me connected to someone who could help. Took about 3 hours of waiting but it worked when nothing else did.

Quick update on the form situation since there seems to be confusion: The Benefit Payment Refund process changed in late 2024. You now have three options: 1. Online: Use the Benefit Return Portal (though as someone mentioned, it can be glitchy) 2. Phone: Get through to ESD and request a payment reversal (only works if payment is less than 5 days old) 3. Mail: You can still use the form method, but it's now form ESD-5617 not 5314 Also important - make sure to update your PFMLA application to show the exact weeks you received unemployment. This prevents PFMLA from overpaying you as well, creating a second problem.