Can my son apply for ESD benefits with an unresolved pandemic overpayment waiver?

yes they can garnish up to 50% of benefits to pay back overpayments, happened to my brother last year. but he should definately still apply! they won't deny him outright just because of the overpayment.

Your son can and should apply for unemployment. Having an outstanding overpayment with a pending waiver won't prevent him from getting a new claim approved. However, there are two possible scenarios: 1. If the waiver is approved before his new claim starts paying out, there won't be any effect on his new benefits. 2. If the waiver is still pending, ESD may recoup some of the overpayment from his new benefits, but they cannot take more than 50% of each weekly payment. I recommend he call ESD to check on the status of his waiver and explain his current situation. This might help expedite the waiver decision. He should also make sure to mention the pending waiver in his new application.

when this happened 2 me i just applied anyway and they took like 35% of my benefits each week. not ideal but better than nothing! tell ur son 2 mention the pending waiver on his application tho

I went through something sort of similar last year - had an overpayment from 2022 when I was on standby status and returned to work earlier than I reported (totally my mistake). Then had to apply again in 2024 when our company downsized. The annoying thing was ESD never seemed to have the same answer twice! First agent said they'd take 100% until it was paid back, second said only 50%, and when I finally started getting payments they were taking about 33%. Frustrating process but KEEP DETAILED NOTES of every conversation including agent names and ID numbers!! BUT the most important thing: YOUR SON SHOULD FILE IMMEDIATELY! Don't wait! Benefits are dated from when you apply, not when you got laid off!

I recently discovered Claimyr.com when dealing with my own ESD issues - it's a service that helps you get through to an actual ESD agent on the phone without waiting for hours. I was skeptical but it worked amazingly well and I got through in about 10 minutes. Your son might want to try it to check on his waiver status. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 In my experience, talking to an actual agent about both the waiver AND the new claim situation will get much better results than just applying and hoping for the best. The agent I spoke with was able to add notes to my file about my specific situation.

One important technical detail: If your son's waiver is for a non-fraud overpayment (meaning it was ESD's mistake or a legitimate misunderstanding), he has much better chances of getting it approved than if it was classified as fraud. He should check his overpayment notice to see how it was classified. Also, for his current claim, he needs to make sure he's meeting the 3 job search activities per week requirement from the very first week unless he gets approved for standby status. Construction workers often qualify for standby if they have a definite return-to-work date within 8 weeks. This would exempt him from job search requirements while still receiving benefits.

Ugh I feel for your son! The ESD system is SO frustrating!!! I had an overpayment from 2021 that I'm STILL fighting with them about. Make sure he checks his ESD account messages DAILY because sometimes they send important notices there but don't email you about them!! I missed a deadline because of this and it was a NIGHTMARE to fix. Does anyone know if he can request a payment plan for the overpayment instead of them just taking money from his benefits? Would that be better?

not to take this off topic but has anyone else noticed that ESD is taking FOREVER to process anything lately? my coworker had a simple address change take 6 weeks to process. wonder if the waiver is taking so long because of general backlog or if waivers are just low priority for them

UPDATE for everyone on this thread: ESD has recently (as of March 2025) implemented new processes for handling overpayment waivers. They are now reviewing older waivers first, so if your waiver request was submitted more than 3 months ago, you should see movement soon. For the original poster's son, I recommend he takes these specific steps: 1. File his new claim immediately 2. Upload a letter explaining his pending waiver situation in the document upload section of his new claim 3. Request standby status since he has a definite return date within 8 weeks 4. Call ESD using one of the methods discussed to check on his waiver status 5. Keep meticulous records of all his job search activities (if standby isn't approved) Even with a 50% reduction to repay the overpayment, he'll still receive some benefits to help with expenses during this temporary layoff.