Approved for UI but stuck in adjudication since 11/28 - payment delays and how to speed things up?

The 'approved' letter just means your initial application qualifies for benefits, but there's still something ESD needs to investigate about your claim, which is what adjudication means. It could be your separation reason, availability for work, or even identity verification. Unfortunately adjudication is taking 6-8 weeks right now according to what an agent told me last week.

same here!! approved then adjudication...makes no sense. been waiting 5 weeks so far 😫

The Governor's office trick still works! I used it last month when my claim was stuck for 3 weeks. Email constituent.services@gov.wa.gov with your name, contact info, and claim ID. Be polite but explain your hardship situation clearly. Mine was released from adjudication 4 days after I contacted them. Also worth knowing - adjudication doesn't always mean your whole claim is held up. Sometimes they only put specific weeks in adjudication while they investigate something. Keep filing your weekly claims no matter what, and check if there's an "upload documents" option in your eServices account that might have questions they need answered.

This EXACT same thing happened to me!!! Got the approval letter and then BOOM adjudication with no explanation. I called ESD literally 37 times over 3 days and never got through. Totally broken system if you ask me. Why even send approval letters if they're meaningless??

If you need to actually reach an ESD agent without the endless busy signals, I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to an agent in about 15 minutes after struggling for weeks. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 I was skeptical at first but it actually worked and the agent was able to tell me exactly why my claim was in adjudication (it was an employer dispute) and what timeline to expect. Saved me from the stress of calling 100+ times.

One more tip: Check if your claim says "Adjudicator Assigned" or just "In Adjudication" - there's a big difference in timeline. If no adjudicator is assigned yet, definitely reach out to the Governor's office as that can speed up assignment. Also, make sure you answered the separation questions completely and accurately on your initial application. Many adjudications happen because information doesn't match what your employer reported.

theres actually a difference between adjucation and disqualification so at least ur not disqualified thats way worse I had that happen last year and had to do a whole appeel process took like 3 months before i got any money

UPDATE: I took the advice about emailing the Governor's office yesterday, and this morning I got a call from an ESD supervisor! They said my claim was flagged for adjudication because my employer reported a different last day of work than what I put on my application (I put my last physical day in the office, they put the date of my final paycheck). The supervisor said she's expediting my case and it should be resolved within 5-7 business days. Just wanted to update in case anyone else is dealing with this. Governor's office escalation DOES still work in 2025!

This is so helpful to read! I'm dealing with almost the exact same situation - got my approval letter but stuck in adjudication for 3 weeks now. The part about date discrepancies between what you reported vs your employer is really interesting because I think that might be what's happening with my claim too. I put my termination date as when I was told I was being let go, but my employer might have reported it as my last day actually worked (which was 2 days later due to notice period). Already sent an email to the Governor's office after reading this thread - hoping I get similar results! Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences here, it makes this whole confusing process feel less isolating.

I'm going through something very similar! Filed in late December and got my approval letter last week, but everything is still showing "in adjudication" in my account. It's so confusing getting that approval letter only to find out you're still not getting paid. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful though - I had no idea about the Governor's office email option or that date discrepancies were such a common issue. I think my situation might also be a date problem because I was laid off on a Friday but my employer had me finish out the week, so there might be confusion about my actual last day. Definitely going to try emailing constituent.services@gov.wa.gov today. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and tips - this community is a lifesaver when you're trying to navigate this maze of a system!