my cousin works at worksource and she said sometimes if u go into a worksource center in person they can help u contact esd through their internal channels. worth a try maybe?

Update: I finally got through! I tried the 7:55am trick that someone suggested here AND I also left a message through the secure portal with "URGENT" in the subject line. Not sure which one worked, but I got a call back yesterday and they resolved my issue. Apparently there was a verification issue with my ID that wasn't showing up in my online portal. My claim should be processed within 48 hours now. Thanks everyone for your help!

One thing no one mentioned - check if you have the correct payment method set up in your account NOW. I won my appeal, waited 3 weeks, then discovered my direct deposit info was outdated with a closed bank account. Had to wait another 2 weeks after fixing that. Also make sure your address is current in case they need to mail you anything.

Just an update for anyone finding this thread later: Most appeal backpay is processing faster in 2025 than in previous years. The average time is now 17-21 days according to what an ESD supervisor told me last month. They've added more staff to the post-appeal processing team specifically because of the backlog issues in 2023-2024.

I submitted the form about 10 days ago. The ESD agent told me it could take up to 30 days for a decision, but in the meantime they're still taking the full 50%. Hoping to hear something soon because it's really tight financially right now!

also make sure ur still doing all ur job search activities every week even while this overpayment thing is happening. my cousin forgot to do his job searches for two weeks while dealing with an overpayment issue and they disqualified him completely, had to appeal and everything it was a huge mess

my friend had money taken and it was for some random hospital bill from like 2017 that went to collections?? idk how they can just take money for that but i guess if it got sent to the state collections agency maybe?? the whole system is weird tbh

UPDATE: I finally got through to ESD this morning! The intercept was for an unpaid vehicle registration renewal fee from 2020 that I completely forgot about. It went to collections with the Department of Revenue. The amount was only $129 plus some penalty fees, so I'm just going to let them take it rather than fight it. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions! For anyone else dealing with this, definitely wait for the notice in the mail like many of you suggested, but also try calling ESD directly to get the fastest answer.

when I had this happen my aunt told me to just keep quiet cuz sometimes the computer makes mistakes in your favor and they never notice lolol but then i got hit with a HUGE bill later so don't listen to me

One more thing to check - are you sure it's actually an overpayment and not back pay for previous weeks that were pending? Sometimes ESD processes multiple weeks at once if there was a hold on your claim that got resolved. Check your payment history in eServices to see exactly what weeks the payment covers.

SURPRISE SURPRISE the ESD system is confusing everyone again! 🙄 The waiting week is a total scam if you ask me. You're already waiting weeks to get approved and then they make you wait ANOTHER week without pay? The whole system is designed to make people give up. And then they hide important notices in that awful eServices portal instead of just EMAILING people like a normal organization would. I waited 9 weeks for my first payment earlier this year because of these ridiculous verification loops.

update? did u get it figured out? hope u got paid!

Just an update for anyone in a similar situation: I've seen appeal decision timelines vary significantly over the past year. The official OAH guideline is that decisions should be issued within 30 days of the hearing, but system backlogs can extend this timeline. Some factors that might affect your timeline: 1. Complexity of your case (simple eligibility issues tend to be faster) 2. Whether additional evidence was submitted after the hearing 3. Current OAH caseload and staffing 4. Whether the judge needed to research specific legal precedents If you reach the 30-day mark, I would definitely recommend contacting OAH directly rather than just ESD. Their contact info is on the hearing notice you received.

UPDATE: I followed the advice here and called OAH directly. The representative was actually really helpful! She checked my case and said the decision was made yesterday and is being mailed out today. She couldn't tell me what the decision was, but at least I know it's coming soon. Such a relief to know it's not lost in the system somewhere. Thanks everyone for the support and advice!

UPDATE: Finally got through to ESD this morning! Turns out there was a payment block on my account because of a random quarterly review flag. The agent removed it and said my payments should process in the next 2-3 business days. She said this happens sometimes and isn't visible in the claimant portal. So if anyone else is stuck in payment pending status despite being approved, keep trying to reach them because there might be something they need to fix on their end!

I ended up using that Claimyr service someone mentioned above. Honestly didn't want to pay for something that should be free, but I was desperate. Got a callback from ESD within an hour and they fixed it right away. Worth it considering I was about to miss rent.

UPDATE: I finally got through! Called exactly at 8:00am and only waited about 25 minutes. The agent was actually really nice and said this happens all the time. She put a note on my claim explaining it was an error and that I AM available for work. She said I probably won't even go into adjudication since she caught it early. SO RELIEVED! Thanks everyone for the advice!

That's excellent news! Getting through early in the morning is definitely the way to go. Glad to hear they were able to resolve it quickly without sending you to adjudication. Thanks for coming back to update us.

After being stuck in pending for 7 weeks, I finally got approved yesterday! My advice is to keep calling ESD every single day, multiple times per day, at different hours. I finally got through at 7:32 AM right when they opened. The agent told me my claim had been flagged for manual review because my employer had two different UBI numbers in the system (they had restructured). Once a human looked at it, it was approved in minutes. The system is broken but persistence pays off.

I've been calling at exactly 7:29 AM, then immediately redialing if I get the busy message. Sometimes it takes 15-20 attempts, but that timing worked twice for me. The worst part is that once the claim is approved, it's literally just a button they push on their end. My adjudicator said it took her about 2 minutes to actually review and approve my claim once she got to it in the queue.