ESD approved my claim 3 weeks ago but payments still showing as 'pending' - normal wait time?

This is totally normal, unfortunately. ESD says they process payments within 48 hours after filing weekly claims, but that's ONLY if everything is perfect with your claim. For me, it took 5 weeks from approval to first payment because they had to verify my identity one more time. Check your notices tab in eServices - there might be a hidden issue they haven't told you about that's causing the delay.

5 WEEKS?? Oh god, I can't wait that long. I just checked the notices tab but there's nothing new there since the approval letter. Should I try calling them or is that just a waste of time?

mine took 2 weeks after approval but my friend waited almost 2 months!!! esd is so inconsistent lol. did u check if ur on conditional payment? sometimes they approve u but still investigate something & dont tell u

What's conditional payment? I don't see anything about that in my account. Is there a specific place I should be looking? The whole system is so confusing!

There's usually a reason payments are stuck in pending after approval. The three most common issues are: 1) Identity verification still processing, 2) Employer dispute about your separation reason, or 3) Missing weekly claim information (like not reporting job search activities correctly). \n\nLook under the

Thanks for this detailed info! I checked the Decisions tab and there's nothing there either. Nothing about conditional payments anywhere I can see. I really think I need to call them but I've heard the wait times are insane. Any tips for getting through?

I tried calling ESD for 2 weeks straight when my payments got stuck in pending. Either busy signals or disconnected after waiting on hold for hours. Such a broken system! I eventually used a service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual ESD agent in about 20 minutes. It basically calls for you and holds your place in line. Totally worth it because the agent was able to see there was a flag on my account that wasn't visible to me online. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 and their site is claimyr.com

Is that service legit? sounds too good to be true lol. ESD phone system is literally the worst. I remember trying for days last year when my account got locked.

Yeah it's legit. My brother-in-law recommended it to me after he used it. They just use some tech to navigate the phone system and keep redialing. When they get through, they connect you to the agent. Saved me hours of frustration.

Everyone's timeline varies greatly. For me, I was approved and had my first payment in my bank account 5 business days later. However, that was in January when claim volumes were lower. \n\nOne thing to check: in your payment history section, do your pending payments list any specific issues? Sometimes there will be a code like \

I don't see any codes next to my pending payments, just says \

THE SYSTEM IS DELIBERATELY DESIGNED TO BE FRUSTRATING!!! They hope people will give up and not collect benefits they're entitled to. My payments were stuck for 6 WEEKS with no explanation. I called 49 times (yes I counted) before getting through. When I finally reached someone, they said there was a \

this is soooo true! my cousin works for state govt (not esd) but says they all know the unemployment system is designed to make it hard to get benefits even when ur approved. its messed up

Update: Just wanted to thank everyone for their advice! I used Claimyr this morning and got through to ESD in about 25 minutes. The agent told me my claim had a verification flag on it that wasn't showing up in my online account! Something about my previous employer's response needing manual review. She removed the flag while I was on the phone and said all my pending payments should process in the next 48 hours. Such a relief! I would have never known what was happening without calling.

This is exactly why calling is so important with ESD issues - glad you got it resolved! Make sure to check your account in a couple days to confirm the payments actually process. Sometimes there can be additional steps even after they say it's fixed.

Will do! It's crazy how something so important could be hung up by a flag I couldn't even see in my account. I'll definitely update if the money actually shows up in my account.

Final update: All three weeks of payments hit my bank account this morning! Such a relief. For anyone else in this situation - definitely call if your payments are pending more than a week after approval. Don't just wait and hope like I was doing!

Congrats! That's great news. Isn't it crazy how a quick phone call fixed everything but there was literally no way to know that from the website? This happens to so many people.