Accidentally submitted weekly claim without job search activities - will ESD delay my payment?

Unfortunately, this will likely cause a delay in your payment. When you don't report job search activities with your weekly claim, the system automatically flags it for review. The good news is that you immediately sent detailed information through eServices, which was the right step. However, ESD may take 1-3 weeks to review and process this correction. From my experience, calling can sometimes speed this up if you can actually reach someone.

did this exact thing last year lol... my payment was delayed like 10 days but i did eventually get it. just make sure you keep doing your weekly claims while you wait!!

This exact situation happened to me in January. Here's what you need to do beyond what you've already done: 1. Continue filing your weekly claims as normal, making sure you include ALL job search activities going forward 2. Call the claims center first thing in the morning (try right when they open at 8am) 3. If you can't get through by phone, visit your local WorkSource office in person - they can sometimes help escalate these issues In my case, I was able to reach someone on the phone after several attempts, and they manually added my job search activities to my claim. My payment was only delayed by 4 days. The key is getting a live person to help you.

I HATE how the ESD website works!! It's so easy to make mistakes like this and then IMPOSSIBLE to fix them! I've been on unemployment twice and both times their system caused me problems. One time I waited 6 WEEKS for them to fix something that wasn't even my fault!!! The whole system is designed to make us fail I swear.

If youve tried calling ESD and cant get through (which is likely), check out Claimyr.com - it helped me get through to ESD when I had a similar issue last month. They have a system that calls ESD for you and connects you when an agent is available. Saved me days of frustration. You can see how it works in their demo video: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3

Make sure when you call you select the right options in the phone system. I find that option 2 (for claim questions) then option 3 (for payment issues) tends to have shorter wait times than the general questions line. Also, don't give up if you get the message about high call volume - sometimes if you call back immediately after getting disconnected, you'll magically get through. Good luck!

Did you mark "no" to the job search question or did you just not enter the details? Those are actually two different issues with different consequences!

Update for everyone: I just spoke with someone at ESD yesterday about a different issue, and they mentioned that starting in 2025, they'll be implementing a new "edit claim" feature that will allow for corrections within 24 hours of submission. That won't help the original poster now, but it's good to know they're finally addressing this common problem for future claims.

Just wanted to follow up - were you able to get this resolved? It would be helpful for others to know what worked (or didn't work) in your situation.

That's awesome that you got it resolved so quickly! 5 days isn't too bad considering it could have been weeks. This is really helpful info for anyone else who makes this mistake. The phone trick with option 2 then option 3 seems to be the real game changer here. I'm definitely bookmarking this thread in case I ever need it - the ESD system is so unforgiving when you make even the smallest error.

This is such valuable information! As someone who's been navigating the ESD system for a few months now, I'm always terrified of making a mistake like this. It's reassuring to see that there are actual solutions and that the community here is so helpful with sharing specific steps that work. The phone menu trick (option 2 then option 3) and calling right at 8am seems to be the consensus for getting through quickly. I'm definitely saving this thread for future reference. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it really helps reduce the anxiety of dealing with ESD's complicated system!

This is exactly why I always double-check everything before hitting submit on my weekly claims! The ESD system is so unforgiving. I'm glad you got it resolved in just 5 days - that's actually pretty good considering some of the horror stories I've heard. For anyone reading this in the future, it sounds like the key steps are: 1) Send detailed info through eServices immediately, 2) Call right at 8am using option 2 then option 3, and 3) Don't give up if you get disconnected. It's ridiculous that we have to become experts at navigating their phone system just to fix simple mistakes, but at least now we have a proven strategy that works!

This whole thread is incredibly helpful! I just started my unemployment claim a few weeks ago and I've been so paranoid about making exactly this kind of mistake. Reading through everyone's experiences and solutions has been really reassuring. The phone strategy (calling at 8am, option 2 then option 3) seems to be the golden ticket for getting through quickly. I'm definitely bookmarking this for future reference and will be extra careful to double-check my job search entries before hitting submit. It's amazing how this community comes together to share these insider tips - the ESD system would be so much more intimidating to navigate without this kind of collective knowledge. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions!