Can I skip filing one weekly claim without messing up my ESD unemployment?
I'm in kind of a weird spot with my ESD claim and not sure what to do. Last week I picked up enough temp hours that I wouldn't qualify for benefits (worked 32 hours). I know I don't need to file for that week, but I'm worried that if I skip filing, my claim will get messed up or I'll have to restart everything. Will my claim stay active if I skip just this one week? I'll need to claim again next week since my hours are dropping back down. I really don't want to accidentally restart my claim or trigger some kind of review. Has anyone dealt with this before? Any advice would be super helpful!
31 comments


Lauren Wood
You're fine to skip filing for a week when you know you won't qualify! Your claim stays open for a full year from when you first filed (your benefit year). Just start filing again next week when your hours drop back down. The ESD system is designed to handle this exact situation - it won't reset your claim or trigger any special review. Just make sure when you do file next week that you report the previous week's earnings accurately.
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Dylan Baskin
•Thank you so much! That's a relief. So when I file next week, do I need to mention anywhere that I skipped filing for the previous week? Or just file like normal?
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Ellie Lopez
i did this twice last year when i got temp work. just dont file for the week you worked full time then start again when hours go back down. no problems at all
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Dylan Baskin
•That's great to hear it worked out for you! Makes me feel better about skipping this week.
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Chad Winthrope
The same thing happened to me in January and I was also worried! I skipped filing for one week when I had enough hours, then went back to filing weekly claims the next week. Everything continued smoothly. Just make sure you don't go more than 4 weeks without filing or else your claim might go inactive and you'd need to reopen it (not restart it, just reopen).
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Dylan Baskin
•Thanks for sharing your experience! Good to know about the 4-week limit - I definitely won't be skipping that long.
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Paige Cantoni
BE CAREFUL!!! I did this last year and it completely messed up my claim! I had to call ESD like 50 times before I finally got through to someone who could fix it. They put me on standby status for some reason and then I couldn't file properly the next week and the whole thing was a NIGHTMARE. Their system is so broken!!
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Lauren Wood
•That's unusual and definitely not the standard experience. Was there perhaps something else going on with your claim? Maybe you were on standby status already? For standard claims, skipping a week of filing when you work full-time hours is perfectly fine and how the system is designed to work.
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Kylo Ren
If you're really worried about it, you can actually still file for that week even though you won't get any benefits. Just report your hours and earnings accurately. The system will calculate $0 in benefits for that week, but your claim stays active. I usually do this rather than skip weeks entirely just to keep everything consistent in the system.
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Dylan Baskin
•Oh, I didn't realize I could just file and report the full hours. That might be easier than skipping. Thanks for the suggestion!
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Nina Fitzgerald
when I needed to get a definitive answer about something similar I tried calling ESD but it was impossible to get through!!!! I ended up using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an ESD agent in about 15 minutes instead of spending days redialing. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. The agent confirmed it's totally fine to skip weeks when you work full time - your claim stays open for the full benefit year.
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Dylan Baskin
•Thanks for the tip about Claimyr. I might use that if I run into any issues when I start filing again. Good to know there's a way to actually reach a real person if needed!
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Jason Brewer
I work in HR and deal with this frequently with our seasonal employees. Here's the official guidance: Your claim remains open for your benefit year (52 weeks from when you first applied). You can skip filing for any week(s) you work full-time or otherwise don't want/qualify for benefits. When your hours reduce again, simply resume filing your weekly claims. No need to reapply unless your benefit year has ended or you've gone more than 4 consecutive weeks without filing (which puts your claim in inactive status). If your claim goes inactive, you just need to reactivate it (much simpler than starting a new claim). You do this by logging in and selecting the option to restart your claim. It's a common situation and the system handles it well.
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Ellie Lopez
•thx for explaining it so clearly! wish ESD website made this as easy to understand
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Chad Winthrope
my roomate had something like this happen last month when he got a 2-week construction job. he just started filing again when the job ended and his claim picked up right where it left off. no problems at all
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Paige Cantoni
•Your roommate got lucky then. The ESD system is sooooo inconsistent. Some people have no issues and others get stuck in bureaucratic hell for months!
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TillyCombatwarrior
I've been in this exact situation multiple times over the past year with my part-time retail job that sometimes gives me full weeks. You're totally fine to skip filing! Your claim stays active for the full benefit year (365 days from when you first filed). I've skipped anywhere from 1-3 weeks at a time when I get enough hours, then just pick back up filing when my schedule drops again. The system handles it seamlessly - no restart required, no penalties, nothing. Just make sure when you do file next week that you accurately report any earnings from this week you're skipping. The ESD actually expects people to do this since work situations fluctuate. Don't stress about it!
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Gabriel Graham
•This is exactly what I needed to hear! Thanks for sharing your experience with the retail schedule fluctuations - sounds very similar to my temp work situation. Really appreciate you confirming that the system handles it seamlessly. I feel much more confident about skipping this week now and just resuming next week when my hours drop back down.
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Zainab Ibrahim
I went through this same situation a few months ago when I got called in for extra shifts at my warehouse job. I was really nervous about skipping a week too, but it turned out to be no big deal at all. Just don't file for the week you worked full-time, then resume filing normally the following week. Your claim will stay active and there's no need to restart anything. The key thing is to make sure you report those earnings from your busy week when you file your next claim. I've done this probably 4-5 times now and it's always worked smoothly. The ESD system is actually designed for situations exactly like yours where people have fluctuating work schedules!
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Emma Taylor
•Thanks for sharing your warehouse experience! It's really reassuring to hear from someone who's done this multiple times successfully. I was definitely overthinking it, but hearing all these positive experiences has put my mind at ease. I'll skip filing this week and just make sure to report the earnings accurately when I file next week. Really appreciate everyone taking the time to share their experiences!
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Emily Nguyen-Smith
I had this exact same worry when I first started getting occasional full-time weeks at my job! The good news is you can absolutely skip filing for weeks when you work enough hours that you won't qualify for benefits. Your claim stays open for the entire benefit year (one full year from when you originally filed), so missing one week won't affect anything. I've been doing this for about 8 months now - sometimes I work 35+ hours and skip filing, other weeks I'm back down to 15 hours and file normally. The system picks up right where you left off. Just remember to accurately report any earnings from your busy week when you file your next claim. Don't stress about it - this is exactly how the system is supposed to work for people with variable schedules!
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Omar Zaki
•Thanks Emily! Your 8-month experience with variable schedules is really helpful to hear about. It sounds like you've got this down to a science at this point. I'm feeling much more confident now after reading everyone's responses - it's clear this is a normal situation that the ESD system handles well. I appreciate you mentioning the one-year benefit period too, that's good to keep in mind for the bigger picture. I'll go ahead and skip this week's filing and just resume next week when my temp hours drop back down.
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Diego Chavez
I've been through this exact situation several times with my on-call work schedule! You're absolutely safe to skip filing for that week where you worked 32 hours. Your claim stays active for the full benefit year, and the ESD system is specifically designed to handle people who have fluctuating work situations like yours. I've skipped anywhere from 1-4 weeks at a time when I get called in for extra shifts, then just resume filing when my hours drop back down. Never had any issues - no restarts, no reviews, nothing. Just make sure when you file next week that you accurately report the earnings from this week you're skipping. The system expects this kind of variability and handles it smoothly. Don't overthink it!
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Aidan Hudson
•Thanks Diego! Your experience with on-call work really mirrors what I'm dealing with. It's so helpful to hear from someone who's done this multiple times - skipping 1-4 weeks and never having issues gives me a lot of confidence. I was definitely overthinking this whole situation, but everyone's responses have made it clear that this is exactly how the system is supposed to work. I'll skip filing this week and just make sure to report those earnings accurately when I resume next week. Really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience!
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Maria Gonzalez
You're totally fine to skip that week! I've been in similar situations with my seasonal work and it's never caused any issues. The ESD system is built to handle exactly this scenario - people with variable hours who sometimes work enough that they don't qualify for benefits. Your claim stays active for the full benefit year (one year from when you first applied), so skipping one week won't reset anything or trigger reviews. Just resume filing next week when your hours drop back down, and make sure to accurately report the earnings from your 32-hour week when you do file. The system expects this kind of fluctuation and handles it seamlessly. Don't stress about it - you're doing everything right!
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Lourdes Fox
•Thanks Maria! Your seasonal work experience is really reassuring. It's amazing how many people have been through this same situation successfully. I was really worried I might accidentally mess up my claim, but hearing from everyone that the system is designed for exactly this scenario has put my mind completely at ease. I'll definitely skip this week and just make sure to report everything accurately when I resume filing next week. Really grateful for all the helpful responses from everyone!
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Miranda Singer
I just went through this exact same situation last month! I was so worried about skipping a week when I got extra hours at my job, but it turned out to be completely fine. Your claim definitely stays active - I skipped filing for one week when I worked 35 hours, then just resumed the following week when my schedule went back to normal. No issues whatsoever, no restart needed, and the system picked up right where I left off. The ESD really is designed for people with fluctuating work schedules like ours. Just make sure when you file next week that you report your earnings from this busy week accurately. You're doing the right thing by not filing when you know you won't qualify - that's exactly how it's supposed to work!
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Sarah Ali
•Thanks Miranda! It's really helpful to hear from someone who just went through this last month. Your experience with working 35 hours and then resuming the next week sounds exactly like what I'm dealing with. I feel so much better knowing that so many people have successfully navigated this situation. All the responses here have really confirmed that I was overthinking this - the ESD system really is designed for variable work schedules like ours. I'll skip this week's filing and just make sure to accurately report everything when I resume next week. Thanks again for sharing your recent experience!
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Andre Rousseau
I had this exact same concern when I started getting irregular temp assignments through an agency! You're absolutely fine to skip filing for that week where you worked 32 hours. Your claim stays open for the full benefit year, so one skipped week won't affect anything at all. I've been doing this for about 6 months now - some weeks I get 30+ hours and don't file, other weeks I'm back to part-time and resume filing normally. The ESD system handles it perfectly and there's never been any issues with restarting or triggering reviews. Just make sure when you do file next week that you accurately report the earnings from your busy week. This is exactly the situation the unemployment system is designed to handle - people with variable work schedules who sometimes earn too much to qualify for benefits. Don't worry about it at all!
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Andre Dupont
•Thanks Andre! Your experience with temp assignments through an agency sounds very similar to my situation. It's really reassuring to hear you've been doing this successfully for 6 months with no issues. Everyone's responses have made it clear that I was worrying about nothing - the system really is designed to handle exactly this kind of variable work schedule. I'll definitely skip filing this week and just make sure to report my earnings accurately when I resume next week. Really appreciate you sharing your experience!
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Sofia Perez
You're definitely overthinking this! I went through the exact same situation a few weeks ago when I picked up extra shifts at my restaurant job. Skipping a week when you work full-time hours is totally normal and expected - that's literally how the system is designed to work. Your claim stays active for the full benefit year, so missing one week won't reset anything or cause any problems. I was nervous about it too, but when I resumed filing the following week everything continued smoothly. Just make sure to accurately report your earnings from that 32-hour week when you file next week. The ESD system actually handles this type of schedule fluctuation really well. You're doing exactly what you're supposed to do by not filing when you know you won't qualify!
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