ESD approved benefits but weeks still showing pending after a month - normal?

Unfortunately this is somewhat normal with ESD these days, but not acceptable. Your claim is probably caught in an adjudication limbo. The approval letter means you qualified for benefits, but there could be an issue with your weekly claims or identity verification that's holding up payment. Check your "Notices/Letters" section in eServices - sometimes they send electronic notifications without mailing anything. Also look at "Upload a Document" section to see if they're requesting anything from you.

i had something kinda similar happen last spring. got approval letter then nothing for like 5 weeks!!! turns out they needed more info but never told me. check ur spam folder maybe? also the esd message center is trash, they never reply.

This sounds EXACTLY like what happened to me back in January! Got the approval letter then NOTHING for almost 6 weeks! All my weeks just sitting there in pending status while bills piled up. ESD is completely BROKEN - they approve you then throw your file into some black hole. The system is DESIGNED to make people give up!!!

After you receive an initial approval letter, your weekly claims still need to be processed individually. There are a few things you should check: 1. Verify that you've correctly submitted all weekly claims 2. Check if there are any alerts on your account about identity verification 3. Make sure you've properly reported any part-time work/earnings 4. Look for any "able and available" issues flagged on your account The system should show if there's a specific issue with your weekly claims. If everything looks correct on your end, you unfortunately need to speak with an ESD representative.

I was stuck in the same situation last month and finally managed to get through to an actual ESD representative who fixed my claim in minutes. I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to ESD without the endless busy signals. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 Turns out my claim had a simple flag that needed to be removed, but it required a human agent to do it. No letters or alerts in the system about it. Might be worth trying instead of waiting more weeks.

just to add another perspective - my cousin had her claim stuck in pending for 7 weeks after getting approved!! she finally got a backdated payment for everything at once. ESD is just reallllly slow right now

Based on everything you've described, this sounds like what we call an "invisible adjudication" issue. Sometimes claims get flagged internally for review without any notification to the claimant. Since it's been over a month since your approval letter, I strongly recommend taking proactive steps: 1. Keep trying to call ESD first thing in the morning (7:00am) 2. Send a secure message through the portal specifically mentioning the approval letter date and that all weeks are still pending 3. Contact your state representative's office - they often have dedicated ESD liaisons who can help Most importantly, continue filing your weekly claims correctly while you wait. If your issue is resolved, you'll receive all backdated payments for properly filed weeks.

Just wanted to update everyone - I finally got this resolved! After trying for days, I used that Claimyr service someone mentioned above and actually got through to ESD in about 20 minutes. Turns out there was a random flag on my account because my former employer had provided slightly different dates than I did. The agent cleared it immediately and released all my payments! Should have the money in 2-3 business days. What a relief! Thanks to everyone who helped.