ESD Covid-era waiver from August 2023 STILL not processed after 3 months - anyone else?

I'm in the exact same boat!!! Filled out the waiver in early September and NOTHING has happened. My overpayment is for $7,245 from when they changed the PUA eligibility requirements after already paying me. Every time I call the regular ESD number they just tell me "it's still under review" with no timeline. So frustrating.

I've been working with unemployment clients on these waivers since they went out. The processing time is much longer than ESD initially claimed. The official guidance was 6-8 weeks, but I haven't seen any August/September waivers fully processed yet. A few clients who submitted in early August just got preliminary reviews last week, but no final decisions. The problem is these waivers require manual review by the overpayment unit, which is severely understaffed. If you're worried about collection actions while waiting, you should request a formal hold on collections through your eServices account (Messages > New > Subject: Collections Hold Request).

mine took 4 months to get any kind of response and it wasn't even a decision, just an email asking for more documentation which i already sent with the original waiver!! complete bs if you ask me

This isn't surprising given ESD's track record. The Covid benefit programs were so rushed out that they're now dealing with a massive cleanup effort. I finally got my waiver processed after 5 months by contacting my state representative's office. Their constituent services staff can escalate your case directly to ESD's legislative liaison team, which bypasses the normal queue. I'd suggest reaching out to your district rep with your claim ID, waiver submission date, and a brief explanation of why this delay is causing hardship.

haha they lost my waiver completely!! when i called they had no record of me submitting anything even though i had the confirmation number right in front of me. now i have to start over. the whole system is a joke

I was so frustrated with the waiver delay that I finally used Claimyr to get through to an actual ESD agent after weeks of failed calls. It was $25 well spent because they connected me directly to someone who could see my waiver status in their system (it was sitting in the queue with hundreds of others). The agent put a note on my account flagging it for priority review and I got a response two weeks later. You can check out how it works here: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. They basically wait on hold for you then call you when they get an agent on the line.

Quick update on waiver processing times - I just had a meeting with the ESD overpayment unit supervisor yesterday. They're currently processing waivers from mid-July, so there's about a 7-month backlog. They've hired additional staff for review, but each waiver requires checking against both federal and state eligibility rules from the pandemic period, which involves manual review of documentation. Important note: Make sure your current contact information is updated in the system. They're sending requests for additional information by mail and email, and if you miss responding to these requests, your waiver could be denied by default.

After reading everyone's experiences, I think we need to recognize this is a systemic issue affecting thousands of people. The Covid benefit programs were chaotic, with changing guidance from both federal and state levels. While waiting for your waiver to be processed: 1. Request a formal hold on collections through eServices (as mentioned above) 2. Document all communications with ESD (dates, times, representative names) 3. Check your spam folder regularly for ESD communications 4. Contact your state representative if it's been over 4 months 5. Consider filing a formal appeal if collections are continuing despite a pending waiver The good news is that I've seen very few waiver denials so far - most are being approved, just very slowly.