ESD demanding 24-hour responses after 9 weeks of silence - what's the deal?

omg YES!! same thing happened to me last month. they took 7 weeks to process my claim then sent me an urgent message at 4:45pm on friday saying i needed to upload paystubs by monday morning. like do they think we just sit around waiting for them all day??

The system is deliberately designed this way to disqualify people. They know most claimants can't respond that quickly, especially if they're working. I've seen this happen repeatedly - they wait months to review claims, then give impossible deadlines. It's all about denying benefits and lowering their payout rates.

this happened 2 me 2. call them ASAP and tell them ur situation, sometimes they can give u more time if u explain. don't wait!!

I work as an advocate helping people with unemployment claims. Here's what you need to know about these urgent notices: 1. You CAN request an extension by calling ESD directly, but you need to do it before the deadline passes 2. Document everything - take screenshots of the notification with timestamp showing when it arrived 3. If working prevents you from responding, that's a legitimate reason for extension they should accommodate 4. Submit what you can within the deadline, even if incomplete, then follow up with the rest 5. If they deny your claim for missing this deadline, you have appeal rights within 30 days The key issue is actually reaching someone at ESD in time, which is notoriously difficult.

I had the exact same issue last month and was about to lose my mind trying to get through to ESD. After 30+ failed calls over 2 days, I found this service called Claimyr that got me connected to an ESD agent in about 20 minutes. Basically skips the phone queue somehow. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 - definitely worth checking out if you're in a time crunch with these ridiculous deadlines. The agent I spoke with ended up giving me a 48-hour extension once I explained my work situation.

I'm dealing with almost the same situation right now. After 8 weeks in adjudication, I got a message at 7pm requiring documentation by noon the next day! I managed to upload everything but I'm still worried they'll deny it for some reason. The worst part is my rent is due next week and I have no idea if I'll have the money. This process is so stressful and dehumanizing.

by the way anyone know why they need all these extra docs anyway? i already sent everything when i first applied

UPDATE: Finally got through to ESD using that Claimyr service someone mentioned below. The agent was surprisingly understanding and gave me a 72-hour extension because of my work schedule. They said the urgent timeline was because my claim has been flagged for potential identity verification (which is ridiculous since I've verified my identity three times already). Anyway, just wanted to update in case anyone else faces the same issue - definitely explain your work situation and ask for more time if you need it.