ESD Standby for dental office staff with multiple unpaid weeks - when to apply and what about waiting week?

ESD's standby is a NIGHTMARE!! I worked seasonally for 6 yrs & the rules keep changing. First, you MUST apply for standby BEFORE your first day off, not after you're already off. The employer has to approve the standby status & there's a max # of weeks allowed. And YES the waiting week is REAL - you NEVER get paid for the first week, it's just how the system works & it's ridiculous!!! 😡

my cousin works fr a dental office and they do this 2. she says u gotta apply like 2 weeks b4 the time off starts then theres a waiting week yeah. but once ur claim is open u just do the weekly thing when ur not working and skip it when ur back at work. u dont have 2 reapply each time off if its w/in the benefit year

I've been through this exact situation with our dental practice! Here's what you need to know: 1. Apply 1-2 weeks BEFORE your first day off (apply in mid-March for your March 31 week) 2. Yes, the waiting week is unpaid - it's required by law, but it only happens ONCE per benefit year 3. For scattered weeks off: Once your claim is established, file weekly claims EVERY week, even when working. For weeks you work, report your hours/earnings and you'll get $0, but it keeps the claim active for your next time off Also important: Make sure your employer approves standby status in the ESD system. The standby status is what allows staff to receive benefits without having to look for other jobs during these brief periods off. Without standby approval, everyone would have to do 3 job searches every week they claim. One last tip: The first claim takes 2-3 weeks to process, so staff should expect a delay in receiving the first payment.

I had the worst time trying to reach ESD with questions about my standby status last year! After days of calling with no answer, I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got through to an agent in under 30 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 The agent explained that for standby, your employer needs to confirm your status through their ESD employer account. They also told me that for scattered weeks like yours, you definitely need to file every week (working or not) to keep your claim active. The waiting week only happens once per benefit year though, so that's good news!

Totally legit. I was skeptical too but it worked exactly as advertised. My only regret is not using it sooner after wasting so many hours trying to get through on my own.

Let me clarify a few things about standby that others haven't mentioned: 1. The maximum standby period for most employers is 8 weeks in a benefit year - this matches your situation perfectly 2. Your employer must request standby status through their ESD account in the employer portal 3. The waiting week is unpaid but only happens once in your benefit year 4. You MUST file weekly claims every week to keep your claim active - report work and earnings during working weeks 5. If you miss filing for 4 consecutive weeks, your claim becomes inactive and you'll need to reopen it Be aware that if your practice has more than 8 weeks off annually, staff would need to conduct job searches for weeks beyond the 8-week standby limit. The system is designed for temporary layoffs with an expected return to work date.

when i did standby last yr i messed up and didnt do my weekly claim for 2 wks when i was working and my claim got all messed up had to call like 57 times to fix it so dont do what i did lol make sure u file EVERY week even if ur working full time

One more important detail - when your staff applies, they need to indicate they're requesting standby status and provide the specific return-to-work date after each period off. So for your March 31 week, they would enter the date they're returning to work in April. For scattered weeks, this gets updated with each period of unemployment. Also, everyone should set up their ESD account and claims BEFORE the first day off work. The system can be glitchy, and you don't want authentication issues delaying benefits.

Also be prepared for SOME of your staff to have their claims go into adjudication for no apparent reason! ESD randomly flags some claims and then it can take WEEKS to resolve!!! Make sure everyone has some savings just in case because there's no predicting who might get stuck waiting!!