ESD WorkShare timing question - can I apply Friday and claim the same week?

The WorkShare application needs to be approved before you can claim benefits for a specific week. If you apply on Friday, that application won't be processed in time for you to claim that same week on Sunday. Your claim effective date will likely be the Sunday following your application approval. And yes, you're correct that the first week is the unpaid waiting week regardless. I went through this last year when my manufacturing job cut hours - took about 8-10 days for my WorkShare application to get approved.

My company did workshare last yr and the HR told us we couldnt claim until the whole company plan was approved. different than regular UI where u can backdate individual claims i think

I don't think it works that way. To my understanding, your WorkShare claim has to be ESTABLISHED before the week you're trying to claim. You can't retroactively claim a week that started before your application was approved. The ESD website is super confusing on this though! I spent THREE HOURS on hold trying to get this exact question answered last month.

Have you tried calling ESD directly? Their website never seems to have clear answers on timing questions like this one. I had to call like 20 times before I could get through to someone about my workshare questions last year.

Let me clear this up with the exact WorkShare rules since I just went through this process in January. A WorkShare claim is ONLY effective from the Sunday AFTER your application is approved - not when you submit it. So if you apply on Friday and somehow got approved immediately (which won't happen), the earliest your claim could be effective would be the Sunday after that. The process typically works like this: 1. Employer gets WorkShare plan approved (sounds like yours did) 2. You apply for your individual WorkShare benefits 3. ESD processes your application (takes 5-10 business days typically) 4. Once approved, your claim becomes effective the following Sunday 5. Your first week is the waiting week (unpaid) 6. Benefits begin the second week So unfortunately, yes, you'll miss out on this current week where your hours are reduced. There's no way to backdate a WorkShare claim to cover a week that started before your individual application was processed.

DONT FEEL BAD i messed up my workshare timing and lost like 3 weeks of benefits cuz i thought my boss was handling everything!! the whole system is designed to make u miss out IMO

One more important thing to remember - make sure you complete your job search activities even while on WorkShare (unless your employer has been approved for standby). A lot of people miss this requirement and end up having issues with their claims later.

Your HR department is correct. WorkShare participants are NOT required to complete job search activities. This is one of the key differences between regular unemployment and WorkShare. Since you remain employed with your current employer (just with reduced hours), the job search requirement is waived. You still have to file your weekly claim, but you won't need to report job search activities.