Claim stuck on pending for 5 weeks after layoff - ESD not responding to emails

same thing happened to me in January, took almost 7 weeks to get approved. the system is totally broken right now. they never responded to my messages either

7 weeks?! That's insane. Did you do anything special to finally get it approved or did they just randomly process it one day?

Unfortunately, this is pretty common right now. The ESD system is experiencing significant backlogs due to the recent tech sector layoffs and the new verification procedures they implemented in January. Here's what you should do:\n\n1. Keep filing your weekly claims even while pending\n2. Check if your identity verification is complete (look under the \

Thank you for the detailed advice. I've definitely been filing my weekly claims. My identity verification shows completed and I don't have any items in my action list. I'll try calling but I've heard it's nearly impossible to get through.

call them!!!!! emails r useless. i had to call like 50 times b4 i got thru but it was worth it cuz they fixed my claim right there on the phone

50 times?! Wow, I better start trying to call them then. Did you call first thing in the morning or is there a better time?

Your claim is probably stuck in the adjudication queue. This happens a lot when there's any discrepancy between what you reported and what your employer reported about your separation. Did you select \

Yes, I definitely selected \

I went threw something kind of similar last month and it was AWFUL!!! i was so stress about bills. emails did NOTHING. i called ESD like 20 times and couldn't get anywhere then my neighbor told me about this service called Claimyr that gets you through to an actual ESD agent on the phone! it worked for me after i was about to give up. you can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 - the website is claimyr.com if you wanna check it out. The agent i talked to was actually super helpful and fixed my claim right there on the phone!!

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm desperate enough to try anything at this point. Did they explain why your claim was held up when you finally got through to someone?

yeah they said there was a flag on my account because my employer had accidentally entered the wrong separation date! such a stupid reason for me to be broke for weeks! the agent fixed it right away and my payment came through 2 days later. they also backdated everything so i got all the weeks at once

You need to understand that ESD doesn't care about your rent or bills. They operate on their own timeline and there's nothing you can do about it. I was laid off in November and didn't see a penny until February. THREE MONTHS while they \

This is simply not accurate. I work with unemployment cases as part of my job, and while ESD is certainly overwhelmed and understaffed, they absolutely do not prioritize denials over approvals. The delays are primarily due to the verification systems implemented to prevent the massive fraud that occurred during COVID. Please don't spread misinformation that makes people more anxious than they already are.

Whatever you say. I'm just telling my personal experience and what I know from someone on the inside. They make you wait on purpose.

my cousin had his claim pending for like 8 weeks and he found out it was cuz he answered one of the weekly questions wrong the first week and it flagged his whole claim lol... maybe double check all your weekly claim answers?

I've been super careful with my weekly claims but I guess it's possible I made a mistake somewhere. Did your cousin have to call to get it fixed?

yeah he had to call and explain. took forever to get thru but they fixed it while he was on the phone

I recommend checking your \

Thank you! I just checked my Notices/Letters section and there IS actually a letter from two weeks ago asking for more details about my layoff. I completely missed it because I never got any notification. I'll respond to this immediately and hopefully that helps move things along. Really appreciate the tip!

That's great news! This is exactly why it's so important to check all sections of your eServices account regularly. Now that you've found the issue, here's what you should do:\n\n1. Respond to their request with all the details they're asking for\n2. After submitting your response, wait 3-5 business days\n3. If your status doesn't change to \

I just submitted all the information they requested with as much detail as possible. Really hoping this gets things moving! Thank you all for the help - I'll update once there's any change in my claim status.