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If I could give 10 stars I would If I could give 10 stars I would Such an amazing service so needed during the times when EDD almost never picks up Claimyr gets me on the phone with EDD every time without fail faster. A much needed service without Claimyr I would have never received the payment I needed to support me during my postpartum recovery. Thank you so much Claimyr!
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Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
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An incredibly helpful service! Got me connected to a CA EDD agent without major hassle (outside of EDD's agents dropping calls – which Claimyr has free protection for). If you need to file a new claim and can't do it online, pay the $ to Claimyr to get the process started. Absolutely worth it!
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Used this service a couple times now. Before I'd call 200 times in less than a weak frustrated as can be. But using claimyr with a couple hours of waiting i was on the line with an representative or on hold. Dropped a couple times but each reconnected not long after and was mission accomplished, thanks to Claimyr.
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I tried for weeks to get thru to EDD PFL program with no luck. I gave this a try thinking it may be a scam. OMG! It worked and They got thru within an hour and my claim is going to finally get paid!! I upgraded to the $60 call. Best $60 spent!
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Congratulations on getting approved! This is such great news and really helpful for others in similar situations. Your experience shows that being upfront and honest with ESD about school attendance is definitely the right approach, even though the adjudication process can be nerve-wracking. The fact that you documented everything (online/asynchronous schedule, availability for work) probably helped speed up their decision. Thanks for sharing your updates throughout this process - it's really valuable information for other community members who might be dealing with the same concerns about balancing education and unemployment benefits.
This is such an encouraging outcome! I'm in a similar situation where I've been considering going back to school while unemployed but was terrified about how it might affect my benefits. Your experience really shows that ESD does seem to understand that people need to upskill to stay competitive in the job market. The fact that you were transparent from the beginning and documented everything properly probably made all the difference. Thanks for sharing the whole journey - from the initial worry to the final approval. It gives me confidence that I can pursue education while still receiving the support I need to get by.
This is exactly the kind of success story we need to see more of! Your journey really highlights how important it is to be proactive and honest with ESD from the start. I'm currently in a similar boat - been unemployed for a few months and considering enrolling in some certification courses to make myself more marketable. Your experience gives me hope that ESD actually supports people trying to better their situation rather than just penalizing them. The key takeaway seems to be: document everything, be transparent, and make sure you can demonstrate you're still available for full-time work. Thanks for taking the time to update us throughout the whole process - this thread is going to help so many people who are in the same position!
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This thread is a perfect example of why it's so important to connect with others who've been through similar situations! Maya, I'm really glad you got the approval sorted out before your trip. For anyone else reading this, I'd also suggest documenting everything - save emails, take screenshots of your authorization, and keep records of your job search activities while traveling. I learned the hard way that having documentation can save you months of headaches if any questions come up later. The ESD system can be confusing, but threads like this really help clarify the process. Safe travels to help your sister!
Absolutely agree about documenting everything! I'm new to unemployment benefits and this whole thread has been incredibly educational. It's amazing how one person's question about travel turned into such a comprehensive guide on temporary absence authorizations. I had no idea ESD had specific procedures for this - definitely something I'll remember if I ever need to travel while on benefits. Thanks to Maya for asking the original question and to everyone who shared their experiences, both good and bad. It really shows how important it is to know the system and follow the proper procedures rather than just guessing.
This whole thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm currently on unemployment and hadn't even thought about what would happen if I needed to travel for family reasons. The fact that there's a specific "Temporary Absence from Labor Market Area" authorization process is something I wish was more widely known. Maya, I'm so glad you were able to get approval in time for your sister's surgery - that must have been such a relief after reading about Connor's nightmare experience with adjudication. It really shows how important it is to follow the proper procedures rather than just marking yourself unavailable and hoping for the best. I'm definitely saving this thread as a reference. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - both the success stories and the cautionary tales really paint a complete picture of how to handle travel while on benefits.
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Update us when you get your back pay! I'm curious how long it actually takes from approval to payment.
Will do! I'll check back in once I see the deposits hit my account.
Congratulations on finally getting approved! The 6-week wait must have been incredibly stressful. Just to add to what others have said - make sure you keep detailed records of all your weekly certifications and any correspondence from ESD during this process. If there are any discrepancies with your back pay, having that documentation will be really helpful. Also, once you start receiving payments, double-check that the amounts match what your weekly benefit calculation should be. I've seen cases where people received partial payments due to system glitches. Fingers crossed everything processes smoothly for you!
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Don't forget to document EVERYTHING. Each time you call, write down the date, time, and what happened (even if you couldn't get through). If you eventually need to escalate this or file an appeal, having this documentation really helps. Also, if you do get through, ask for a direct number or extension to reach that same person again if possible!
That's smart advice. I'll start keeping a detailed log of all my attempts. Hopefully it won't come to needing an appeal, but better to be prepared.
I'm dealing with something very similar - 5 weeks of pending claims after being laid off from my retail job. The most frustrating part is the complete lack of communication from ESD about what's actually happening with our claims. Based on what I'm reading here, it sounds like there are so many different reasons claims can get stuck, but they don't bother to tell us which one applies to our situation. I'm going to try calling right at 8am tomorrow and also reach out to my former employer to make sure they responded properly. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - at least now I know I'm not alone in this nightmare!
Mohamed Anderson
Definitely! Real experiences from real people beat official timelines any day.
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QuantumQuasar
I'm in a similar situation - filed my claim about 10 days ago after getting laid off from my tech job. Reading through everyone's experiences here is really reassuring. It sounds like 2-3 weeks is pretty standard for straightforward layoffs. I've been religiously filing my weekly claims and checking my SecureAccess account every day (maybe too often!). The uncertainty is definitely the hardest part, but hearing that most people get their retroactive payments all at once in that first deposit makes the wait feel more manageable. Thanks for starting this thread - it's been incredibly helpful to see real timelines from actual people rather than just the vague info on the ESD website.
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Ava Martinez
•Welcome to the waiting game! I'm about a week behind you - filed last Tuesday and also checking my account way too often. It's good to hear from someone in tech too since I wasn't sure if different industries had different processing times. The retroactive payment thing is definitely what I'm banking on (literally). Have you gotten any communication from ESD yet or just the initial confirmation? I'm trying to resist the urge to call them since it seems like that's mostly futile at this point.
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