ESD UI claim stuck in 'processing' limbo for 3 weeks - normal wait time?

It really depends on your specific situation. My regular UI claim was approved in just 5 days last month, but my coworker who was laid off at the same time has been waiting almost 4 weeks. If your application has any issues that require adjudication (like if your employer contests anything or there's missing info), it can take MUCH longer. Have you checked if your claim shows any pending issues or if it's in adjudication? That info should be visible when you log into your eServices account.

The "normal" processing time is completely unpredictable right now. I've been on UI twice in the past year (seasonal construction work) and the first time took 2 weeks, second time took 7 weeks!!! The difference was that the second time they put me in adjudication for no apparent reason. You should be able to see if you're in adjudication by clicking on your current claim in eServices and looking for any alerts or issues listed. If you see nothing but "processing," that usually means no issues have been flagged YET, but they're still reviewing. Keep filing your weekly claims no matter what! Even if approval takes forever, you'll get all that backpay once approved.

I hate to say it, but you probably need to call them. The online system is notoriously unhelpful about telling you WHY something is delayed. You might have some simple issue that could be fixed in 5 minutes if you could just talk to someone. The problem is actually getting through to an agent - I spent 3 days trying to call ESD non-stop before I gave up.

when my claim was stuck for a month i started calling my state representative's office. they have special contacts at ESD and can sometimes help move things along. worth a try?

I had a similar issue last month and after weeks of trying to call with no luck, I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to an ESD agent in about 20 minutes. It cost some money but was worth it for me since I found out my claim was held up by a simple verification issue they needed to fix. Saved me weeks of waiting. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 and their site is claimyr.com. Might be worth checking out if you're desperate to talk to someone at ESD.

Another thing to check - did you verify your identity through ID.me? That's a required step now and if you haven't done it, your claim will sit in limbo indefinitely. They should have sent you an email about it, but sometimes those go to spam. Log into your eServices account and look for any action items or alerts about identity verification.

Based on what you're describing, your claim is likely in the standard processing queue without any specific issues flagged. Here's what I recommend: 1. Continue filing your weekly claims without fail 2. Try calling first thing in the morning (right when they open at 8am) as that's when wait times are shortest 3. Check your Secure Message Center in eServices daily for any communications 4. Look under the "Decisions" tab in eServices to see if there are any pending decisions The current average processing time I've seen is about 2-3 weeks for clean claims, but can stretch to 4-5 weeks during busy periods. The system should eventually process your claim if there are no issues, but reaching an agent can certainly speed things up if there's something minor holding it up.

Just wanted to update here - I finally got my claim approved after 4.5 weeks of waiting. No explanation for the delay, just suddenly got an approval letter and the money showed up in my account two days later. So sometimes there's literally nothing wrong and it just takes them forever to process things. The system is overwhelmed and understaffed from what I hear.

btw make sure ur doing ur job search activities EXACTLY right!!! i got denied because i didnt put phone numbers for 2 applications i submitted online. so stupid. had to appeal and it took FOREVER

UPDATE: Just wanted to let everyone know that I was finally able to reach someone at ESD this morning (called right at 8am and only waited about 30 minutes). Turns out there was a discrepancy between my reported work history and what my employer reported. The agent was able to verify my information and override the hold on my claim. She said I should see approval within 48 hours! Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions.