Accidentally submitted weekly claim without job search activities - will ESD delay my payment?
I totally messed up today when filing my weekly claim! I was going through the process as usual and accidentally hit the submit button BEFORE entering my 3 job search activities. As soon as I realized what happened, I panicked and immediately sent a message through eServices explaining my mistake. I included all the details for each job application (company names, positions, application dates, websites, contact info, etc.) in that message. I'm really worried this will mess up my payment for the week. Has anyone made this mistake before? Will ESD still process my payment on time or will this put me into adjudication limbo? I really can't afford any payment delays right now as rent is due next week. Should I try calling them tomorrow morning to explain?
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Amara Nnamani
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.
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Liam Fitzgerald
•Oh no! I can't wait 1-3 weeks for my payment! Do you think there's any chance they'll process it faster since I sent the message right away? I'm literally going to have to choose between rent and food if this gets held up.
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Giovanni Mancini
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!!
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Liam Fitzgerald
•Thanks for sharing your experience! 10 days would be tough but at least it's better than 3 weeks. I'll definitely keep filing my weekly claims.
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NebulaNinja
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.
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Liam Fitzgerald
•Thank you SO MUCH for the detailed advice! I'll try calling right at 8am tomorrow. If that doesn't work, there's a WorkSource office about 20 minutes from my place that I can try. Really appreciate knowing there's hope to fix this quickly!
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Fatima Al-Suwaidi
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.
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Dylan Mitchell
•6 weeks?? That's insane. The system definitely has problems but I've never had to wait that long. Most issues I've had were resolved within 2 weeks max.
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Sofia Morales
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
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Liam Fitzgerald
•Thanks for the suggestion! I've been trying to call all morning with no luck - just endless busy signals or getting disconnected. I'll check out that service if I can't get through by tomorrow.
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Dmitry Popov
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!
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Giovanni Mancini
•this is actually super helpful advice! the phone system is like a weird game u have to figure out lol
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Dylan Mitchell
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!
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Liam Fitzgerald
•I think I actually marked "yes" that I did my job searches, but then I accidentally hit submit before entering the details. That's why I'm hoping they might be more understanding since I didn't outright say I didn't do them.
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NebulaNinja
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.
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Fatima Al-Suwaidi
•LOL only took them FOREVER to add a basic feature that should have been there from day 1!! 🙄
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Amara Nnamani
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.
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Liam Fitzgerald
•Yes! I finally got through on the phone using the option 2 then option 3 trick that someone suggested. The agent was able to add my job search activities to my claim while I was on the phone. My payment was delayed by 5 days but it just came through this morning. Such a relief! Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions!
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