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After your appeal is filed, make sure you keep filing your weekly claims every week while waiting for the decision! Too many people stop filing during appeals and then if they win, they don't get paid for those weeks. Even if they're denied each week, keep filing!
Oh wow, I didn't know this! I thought since I was denied I shouldn't bother filing until after the appeal. Thank you for telling me - I'll make sure to file my weekly claims.
Just be prepared for this to potentially take MONTHS to resolve. The appeals backlog at OAH is ridiculous right now. Make sure you have a plan for how to stay afloat financially in the meantime. Not trying to be negative, just realistic based on current timeframes I've been seeing.
yea my cousins appeal took like 11 weeks start to finish but he did get all the backpay when he won so thats something at least
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One more important thing to consider: if your separation is processed as you described, make sure you indicate on your application that your employer ended the relationship because they couldn't accommodate your need for additional leave. Don't say you quit or it could complicate things. Also, be prepared to provide documentation about your caregiving responsibilities if requested. This could help if you need to establish good cause for any availability limitations.
This is really helpful advice. I'll make sure to be clear about who ended the employment relationship. I have all the medical documentation from my mom's doctors that I used for the PFML claim, so hopefully that will help if they ask for proof of my caregiving situation.
random question but did u use all 16 weeks of PFML at once? i thought the max was 12 weeks? just curious cause ill need to do this soon myself
The standard is 12 weeks, but you can get up to 16 weeks if you have a combination of family and medical leave reasons in a year, and up to 18 weeks for certain pregnancy-related complications. In my case, I had my own medical issue earlier in the year (4 weeks) and then 12 weeks for family care. Check the PFML website for details!
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Just a heads up - if they let you go, your claim might get stuck in adjudication while ESD investigates. This is normal for cases that aren't simple layoffs. Mine took about 5 weeks because they had to determine if my separation was qualifying or not. During adjudication, KEEP FILING YOUR WEEKLY CLAIMS even though you're not getting paid yet. If your claim is approved, you'll get backpay for all the weeks you filed.
YES! This is super important advice. Too many people stop filing weekly claims during adjudication and then have to try to backfile, which is a whole other headache.
Thanks everyone for the advice. I'm going to start documenting everything carefully, follow up conversations with emails, and track my performance metrics. I really hope they continue the accommodation after 90 days, but at least now I feel more prepared if they don't.
Good luck! Remember that the most important thing for unemployment purposes is to clearly establish the connection between your ADA accommodation request and any potential termination. Washington state is generally pretty good about protecting workers in these situations.
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The ESD agents themselves are often confused about interstate claims tbh. I had a similar situation between Idaho and Washington and got different answers from FOUR different agents! What a mess. Eventually I got a senior agent who actually understood the rules. Hope you get it sorted!
Update: I called Nevada DETR this morning (took forever to get through) and finally spoke with an agent who confirmed what you all said - I can potentially use those wages for a Nevada claim after my WA benefit year expires in March! She said my two quarters should be enough to qualify for at least a minimal benefit. She also mentioned I'll need to provide proof that those wages weren't used in my WA monetary determination. Thanks everyone for the guidance!
That's great news! Make sure to keep both your WA monetary determination letter and your Nevada wage information for when you file. Documentation is key with these interstate claims. Glad you got through and got confirmation!
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OMG the same thing happened to my cousin last month! ESD is such a disaster. They made her pay back $3000 even though she had proof she wasn't working! The whole system is designed to confuse people and take back money even when they don't owe it. You should file a complaint with the state ombudsman and maybe even contact your state representative. My cousin just gave up and is making payments on money she shouldn't even owe because fighting the system is so exhausting.
This is not accurate advice. ESD does not arbitrarily make people repay benefits they were entitled to. If your cousin had proper documentation showing she wasn't working during the weeks she claimed, she should have appealed the overpayment determination. There's a formal appeals process specifically for these situations. To the original poster: Don't panic based on anecdotal stories. Follow the proper channels to resolve this. Document everything, communicate clearly with ESD, and if you do receive an actual overpayment notice (which hasn't happened yet), you have appeal rights.
UPDATE: I finally got through to ESD this morning! Here's what happened: Apparently when my employer responded to the verification request, they entered my start date incorrectly (off by one week). This made the system think I was working full-time during a week I had claimed benefits. The agent fixed the date in their system and removed the adjudication hold on my previous weeks. The agent also formally closed my claim since I'm fully employed now. She said I should receive confirmation in my eServices account within 48 hours, and the employer notices were automatically generated but will be updated. Such a relief! Thanks everyone for your help and advice during this stressful situation.
Great news! I'm glad you got it resolved. This is exactly why speaking directly with an agent is so important - they can see the specific issue and fix it immediately. For future reference (or for others reading this thread), whenever your claim status changes (you start working, even part-time), it's always best to speak with ESD directly to ensure everything is properly documented in their system. Glad it worked out for you!
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Just curious, did you get an email or letter specifically saying you were denied standby? Sometimes people assume they're denied standby when actually their whole claim is just in adjudication. It's important to know which issue you're dealing with since they require different approaches.
Yes, I received a specific letter about the standby denial about a week after filing my initial claim. It said I needed to complete job search activities. Then separately, my claim went into adjudication status a few days later.
Since you only have one more week before returning to work, you might want to try calling right when ESD opens at 8:00 AM. I've heard people have better luck getting through in the first 15 minutes. If that doesn't work, seriously consider a service like Claimyr that I mentioned - the cost is worth it when you're waiting on potentially thousands in benefits.
I've tried the early morning calls a few times with no luck, but maybe I'll try right at 8:00 sharp tomorrow. If that doesn't work, I might look into Claimyr - at this point I'm willing to try almost anything to get this resolved before I return to work.
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Just wanted to add that I spoke with an ESD representative last week about a different issue, and they mentioned this appeal form problem is happening because they're in the middle of a system update. Apparently it's affecting about 15% of users trying to file appeals online. They're aware of it but don't have an estimated fix date yet. They recommended either calling in or using the paper form as others have suggested here.
Thanks for the insider info! At least it's good to know it's not just me doing something wrong. I've mailed in the paper form today and will try calling as well.
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my cousin works at esd (not in claims tho) and she says they have a special team for imeplementing appeals and theres only like 5 people doing ALL of them for the whole state!!!! thats why it takes sooooooo long. the status date changing means ur still in the queue but not necessarily that anyone is actually looking at ur claim that day. good luck!!!!
This tracks with what I've heard from ESD staff too. The appeals implementation team is severely understaffed relative to their workload. They prioritize by date of decision and complexity, so larger backpay amounts tend to take longer because they require additional review steps.
UPDATE: I finally got through to ESD using that Claimyr service someone suggested above. The agent confirmed my appeal is in the implementation queue but said it's flagged for "large payment review" which adds 7-10 business days. She escalated it to a supervisor who promised to look at it by end of next week. The agent also confirmed that the date changing daily is just the system acknowledging the claim is still pending, not that someone actively worked on it that day. I'll update again when/if the payments come through. Thanks everyone for your help and advice!
Glad you got through! The escalation to a supervisor should help speed things up. When mine was escalated, it was processed within 5 business days. The "large payment review" is standard for any backpay over $10k, so that makes sense with your 21 weeks.
Justin Chang
I think everyone's making this more complicated than it is. Just go to your weekly claim section and there should be an option for "claim previous weeks" or something similar. That's how I did it when I missed filing for 2 weeks when I was sick last year. No phone calls needed.
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Jay Lincoln
•That option only appears if you've missed filing for 1-2 weeks very recently (like the previous couple of weeks). If the OP is trying to backdate several months, they absolutely need to call. The system won't allow self-service backdating beyond a very short period. The "claim previous weeks" option disappears after about 4 weeks.
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Brooklyn Foley
Update: I called ESD this morning (took forever) and finally got through. For anyone who needs this info in the future: YES you can backdate if you were eligible during those weeks, but you MUST provide a "good cause" reason for not filing. The agent said job searching is considered good cause. They're sending me a form for each week I missed, and I'll need to provide 3 job search activities per week. Once approved, they'll issue payments for those weeks. Thanks for all the advice everyone!
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Marcus Williams
•Awesome! Glad it worked out! Make sure to get those forms back ASAP because there's a processing time for backdated weeks too.
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