ESD disqualified me for a week I actually worked - no pending issues showing?
I'm so confused and frustrated right now. I just checked my ESD account and saw I was disqualified for benefits for the week of December 17th, 2025. But here's the thing - I actually WORKED that week! There's nothing in my account showing any pending issues or anything in decision status that would explain this disqualification. I've tried calling ESD about 20 times over the past three days but keep getting that automated message saying call volume is too high. Has anyone else had this happen? Could working that week somehow be the reason I got disqualified? I'm eligible for partial benefits when I work reduced hours, and I reported everything correctly. I don't understand why they'd disqualify me with zero explanation!
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Malik Davis
If you worked that week and reported your earnings correctly, you might have earned over your weekly benefit amount which would automatically make you ineligible for that specific week. Did you check if your reported earnings exceeded your WBA? That's not technically a disqualification - it's just ineligibility for that particular week. You should still be able to claim for future weeks as long as your earnings are below the threshold.
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Emma Wilson
•Ohhhh wait that might be it! I picked up an extra shift that week that I totally forgot about until now. But why wouldn't it just say "excess earnings" instead of "disqualified"? And do I need to do anything to fix this or just keep filing like normal?
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Isabella Santos
the same exact thing happened 2 me last month!! ESD systems are so confusing. i think they use the word disqualified for anything that makes u not get $ that week. doesnt necessarily mean ur claim is messed up for good
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Ravi Gupta
•This! ⬆️ The terminology is confusing. ESD uses 'disqualified' when you're just ineligible for that particular week. As long as there's no pending issues showing in your account, you should be fine to continue filing weekly claims. The system isn't great at explaining these distinctions.
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GalacticGuru
It sounds like you may have exceeded your weekly benefit amount with the hours you worked. When that happens, the system automatically shows as 'disqualified' for that specific week, not your entire claim. The terminology ESD uses is really confusing and causes a lot of unnecessary panic! If you have no pending issues or decision status items, you're probably still eligible for benefits in weeks where you work fewer hours. However, if you're concerned there might be some other issue that's not showing up in your account, getting through to an ESD agent is your best bet. I was in a similar situation last month and used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an agent in about 25 minutes instead of making 50+ calls. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. It really saved me from weeks of stress trying to figure out what was happening with my claim.
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Emma Wilson
•Thank you for the explanation! That makes me feel a lot better. I might try that Claimyr service if I keep having issues, but I'll file my next weekly claim first and see if things go back to normal. Appreciate the help!
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Freya Pedersen
Just went through something similar. THE SYSTEM IS GARBAGE!!!! They use 'disqualified' when they just mean you didn't get paid for that week. It's INSANE they can't update their system to use clearer language. Had me panicking for DAYS thinking my whole claim was messed up when really I just worked too many hours that one week.
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Omar Fawaz
•You're right about the confusing terminology. For clarification: in ESD's system, "disqualified" for a single week usually means you weren't eligible for that specific week, while "disqualified" under your claim status would indicate a more serious issue affecting your entire claim. It's a subtle distinction that causes unnecessary anxiety for claimants.
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Chloe Anderson
Have you checked your determination letters in your ESD account? Sometimes they send an explanation there even when nothing shows under pending issues. Also, did you meet all your job search requirements for that week? Missing job search activities can cause a disqualification even if you worked and reported earnings correctly. You need to complete 3 job search activities each week unless you have an approved standby status.
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Emma Wilson
•I just double-checked and don't see any new determination letters. And yes, I definitely did my job search activities - I always do at least 4 just to be safe. Based on what everyone is saying, I think it was just that I earned too much that week with my extra shift. I'll keep an eye on next week's claim to be sure.
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Isabella Santos
wait i just remembered somthing - was December 17 a holiday week? cuz sometimes holiday pay counts as earnings even if u worked normal hours and that can push u over the limit
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Emma Wilson
•You might be onto something there! My company gave everyone a holiday bonus that week. I reported it because I wasn't sure if it counted as earnings or not. That plus my regular pay and the extra shift I picked up probably pushed me over. Mystery solved! Thanks everyone!!
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