Approved for ESD unemployment in 2 weeks - when will first payment arrive?

Congrats on the quick approval! That's actually pretty fast for ESD these days. After approval, you should typically see your first payment within 2-3 business days after filing your first weekly claim (assuming you've already filed at least one weekly claim). Remember that your first week is a waiting week where you don't get paid, so your first payment will be for your second week of eligibility.\n\nThey'll backdate to when you first applied as long as you've been filing your weekly claims consistently. So if you applied 2 weeks ago and have filed for both weeks, you should get payment for the second week very soon.\n\nMake sure your direct deposit info is correctly entered in the system or it could cause delays. Also double check that you don't have any pending issues showing on your claim homepage.

Thank you so much for the detailed info! I've filed weekly claims for both weeks since I applied, so sounds like I should be getting payment for that second week soon. Just checked and my direct deposit info is all set up correctly. No pending issues showing on my homepage either, just the approval notice. Fingers crossed it comes through before rent is due!

u might not get ur money right away evn after approval. my boyfriend got approved but then they put his claim in adjudication for 2 more weeks for

Seriously!! The amount of random verification stuff they put people through is ridiculous. My first claim went through fine last year but then I had to reapply in January and they stuck me in pending for TWO MONTHS claiming they needed to verify my identity again. Same person, same everything! I ended up having to do THREE different ID verification processes. The system is completely broken.

Oh no, that's concerning! My approval letter didn't mention anything about additional verification, but I guess they could still throw that at me. I really hope I don't end up in adjudication after already being approved. That would be a nightmare with bills coming due.

If you've been approved and there are no issues with your weekly claims, payment is typically processed within 48 hours after you submit your weekly claim. As others mentioned, the first week is a waiting week (you won't be paid for it), but you still need to file a claim for that week.\n\nIf you filed your initial application two weeks ago, filed weekly claims for both weeks, and now have approval, you should receive payment for week two very soon. The system processes payments in batches overnight, so depending on your bank, you might see the deposit 1-3 business days after processing.\n\nRegarding backdating - they calculate benefits from your application date forward, not the approval date. So as long as you've filed all weekly claims, you won't miss any payments you're entitled to.\n\nIf your payment doesn't show up within 3-4 business days after your weekly claim, I'd recommend calling ESD to check if there's an issue. Their phone lines are notoriously busy though.

Actually, if you're having trouble getting through to ESD on the phone (which is almost guaranteed), I'd recommend using Claimyr. It's a service that gets you through to an actual ESD agent without waiting on hold for hours. I used it when my claim had payment delays and got through in about 10 minutes. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. Saved me so much frustration when I needed to find out why my payments weren't processing after approval.

Thanks for the tip! I'll keep Claimyr in mind if I run into issues. Hopefully I won't need it, but it's good to know there's an option to actually reach someone if problems come up. Those hold times sound brutal from what I've heard.

make sure ur doing ur job searches!!! even if ur approved they'll stop paying if u dont do the 3 job search activities every week and report them correctly. my friend got her benefits canceled because she thought she didn't need to do job searches right away. big mistake!!!

Thanks for the reminder! Yes, I've been doing my 3 job search activities each week and documenting them in the system. I want to make sure I'm following all the requirements so there aren't any interruptions to the benefits. Already applied to a bunch of marketing positions, so that part is covered.

Just curious - did you set up direct deposit or are you getting the ESD debit card? Direct deposit is definitely faster once the payment is approved. With direct deposit I usually get my payment on Tuesday or Wednesday after filing my weekly claim on Sunday.

I opted for direct deposit to my checking account. Good to know about the Tuesday/Wednesday timing! That gives me a better idea of what to expect. I filed my latest weekly claim on Sunday, so hopefully I'll see something hit my account in the next day or two.

DONT COUNT ON THE MONEY UNTIL ITS ACTUALLY IN YOUR ACCOUNT!!!! I've seen so many people get approved then hit with some random issue that stops payment. The ESD system is BROKEN and they don't care at all about people waiting for money to pay bills. I was approved last year then randomly put in adjudication for 8 WEEKS with NO EXPLANATION. Had to take out a loan just to pay rent!!! The whole system is designed to deny benefits and make you give up.

While delays can happen, what you experienced isn't typical. Most claims that are approved without issues do process payments on schedule. The system has improved since last year when they were dealing with the aftermath of pandemic claims. \n\nThe current average for clean claims (those without issues requiring adjudication) is about 7-10 days from application to first payment. Since OP already has approval, and assuming there are no new issues flagged, they should receive payment on the normal schedule.

HAHAHA \

Thanks for the warning - I'll definitely keep my expectations realistic. I have some savings I can tap if needed, but obviously would prefer not to. Fingers crossed my experience is one of the smoother ones!

Just to add a bit more info - after you're approved and start receiving payments, make sure you keep an eye on your ESD account for any notices or alerts. Sometimes they randomly request additional information even after you're approved and receiving benefits. If you miss responding to one of these requests, they can pause your payments. \n\nI learned this the hard way when they sent me a questionnaire about my job search activities that I didn't see for a week, which resulted in my payments being held up for almost a month while they \

That's really good advice! I'll make sure to check my account regularly and set up email notifications if possible. Definitely don't want to miss any important communications from them. Thanks for the heads up!

UPDATE: Just wanted to let everyone know that my payment came through this morning! It took exactly 3 business days after filing my weekly claim on Sunday. Thanks to everyone for all the helpful information and advice. The amount was correct too - they included the week after the waiting week just like you all said. Such a relief to have this sorted before rent is due!

That's great news! Glad to hear it worked out smoothly for you. Just keep filing those weekly claims on time and doing your job search activities, and you should be all set going forward. Wishing you the best of luck with your job search!

Thank you! Already have two interviews lined up for next week, so hopefully I won't need the unemployment for too long. But it's definitely a relief to have it as a safety net while I search for the right position.