ESD claim stuck on 'Pending' after filing Monday - normal wait time or problem?

This is pretty normal these days. ESD is taking 5-7 business days to process initial claims, sometimes longer if they're swamped with applications. The "Pending" status just means they haven't gotten to your claim yet. As long as you filed everything correctly and answered all the eligibility questions truthfully, you should be fine. Keep filing your weekly claims while you wait - that's super important even if your initial claim is still pending!

mine sat on pending for 2 weeks back in january!!! so frustrating but it eventually went thru. dont panic yet

I work in HR and hear this all the time from former employees. The ESD system is completely overloaded right now because of all the tech layoffs happening. Five days is actually not bad at all - I've seen claims take 3+ weeks to process initially. Just make sure you're completing your weekly claims and job search activities (3 per week) while you wait. Document EVERYTHING in case they come back with questions.

THEY ARE DELIBERATELY SLOW TO SAVE MONEY!!! Don't believe anyone who says this is "normal" - ESD has been cutting staff for years while demand increases. They know exactly what they're doing by making us wait. When I filed last year it took 23 days before my claim was approved, and then they tried to disqualify me for a "job search requirement" I never knew about!

After trying to call ESD about my pending claim for weeks with no luck, I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual ESD agent in about 30 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 The agent was able to tell me exactly why my claim was delayed (missing employer response) and what I needed to do. Saved me weeks of waiting and wondering.

My sister filed in February and hers was pending for 4 days then switched to processing for another week before being approved. She said the most important thing was to keep filing weekly claims even while waiting for the initial approval. ESD can backpay those weeks once your claim is approved but ONLY if you filed claims for them! Don't miss any weeks thinking "what's the point" - you'll regret it later.

Update: I called ESD this morning using that Claimyr service someone mentioned, and I got through to an agent in about 20 minutes! Turns out there was a discrepancy between the dates I put on my application and what my employer reported. The agent fixed it right on the call and said my claim should move from Pending to Processing within 48 hours. Just wanted to update in case anyone else has a similar issue. Don't wait too long to check if something seems stuck!