ESD denied new claim with old 'not able/available' dates - maternity leave confusion?

This happened to my brother too! They used some random dates from 2022 to deny his claim in 2025. Total system glitch. Call them asap!

This sounds like a base year issue. When filing a new claim, ESD looks at your son's work history during the base year (which is the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before filing). But they shouldn't be referencing old disqualification reasons from a previous claim to deny a new one - that's likely an error in their system. The appeal is definitely the right first step, but he should also try to speak with an ESD representative directly. In the appeal, he should clearly state: 1. The dates in question (March-April 2022) were when he was on paternity leave 2. His previous claim ended before those dates 3. His current claim is completely new and should be evaluated based on his current availability Make sure he includes any documentation about the paternity leave and the end date of his previous claim. Also have him check his work history in the base year for the new claim to make sure he meets the requirements.

omg the ESD system is so broken...they denied me using info from 2021 for a claim i made last month!!!!! i appealed and wont hear back for like 8 weeks they said. this is ridiculous how are ppl supposed to pay bills? did your son ever get thru on the phone? mine is always busy or it hangs up

After working in HR for 15+ years, I can tell you this is almost certainly a system error. The old 'able and available' flag from his previous claim period seems to have been incorrectly applied to his new claim. The paternity leave timing is just a coincidence - the real issue is that ESD's system is pulling old disqualification codes. Your son needs to get someone on the phone who can manually review this. Appeals work but take forever. I'd recommend documenting everything in writing too - take screenshots of all his eServices pages showing the dates and discrepancies.

I know everyone's saying it's a glitch, but to play devil's advocate - is there ANY chance your son indicated he wasn't available for work on those dates back in 2022? Even if he was working or on leave? Sometimes people make mistakes on weekly claims or in their initial applications, and ESD holds onto that information forever it seems.

I had a similar problem getting through to ESD last month when my claim got messed up. Regular phone method wasn't working after days of trying. I ended up using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an ESD agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 The agent was able to fix my issue right away once I actually got through. For something like your son's situation where it's clearly a date mix-up, getting someone on the phone can resolve it much faster than waiting for the appeal hearing.

WHATEVER YOU DO DON'T MISS THE APPEAL DEADLINE!!! Even if he gets it fixed by phone, the appeal is his protection. I went through similar garbage with them mixing up my 2 claims and their stupid computer system. If the ESD person on the phone says they fixed it GET THEIR NAME and get it in writing!!!!

One more thing I wanted to mention - if your son can't get this resolved quickly by phone, he should continue filing his weekly claims while the appeal is pending. If he wins the appeal, he'll only be paid for weeks he claimed, even if he was eligible. Missing weeks can't be claimed retroactively once the appeal decision comes through.

My friend went through almost the exact same thing last year. It was because the ESD system was trying to reactivate his old claim instead of properly processing the new one. The able and available dates were from that old claim but were being erroneously applied. His case manager eventually fixed it but it took almost 2 months.

Just wanted to update everyone - my son FINALLY got through to ESD this morning after using that phone service someone mentioned. The rep confirmed it was indeed a system error where his old claim information was incorrectly attached to his new claim. They're correcting it, but said it will take 3-5 business days to update in the system. They told him to keep filing his weekly claims, and once the correction processes, he'll receive payment for all eligible weeks. His appeal hearing is still scheduled for next month, but the rep said that would likely be dismissed once the system correction goes through. Thanks everyone for your help and advice!!