ESD overpayment notice after reporting new monthly-paid job - will I have to repay $2k?

Unfortunately, ESD considers you employed as of your start date, not based on when you receive your first paycheck. According to their rules, once you start working, you're supposed to report your hours worked each week even if you haven't been paid yet. The system calculates benefits based on hours worked, not when payment is received. You'll likely need to repay the benefits you received after your start date.

Oh no... this is what I was afraid of. So even though I have zero money coming in until Nov 30th, they'll still want their money back now? How am I supposed to pay them back when I haven't even gotten paid yet?

Happened to me too!!! I started a job in February and didn't get paid till march 1st and ESD came after me for like $1700. I tried to fight it but they didn't care AT ALL that I hadn't gotten paid yet. The lady said unemployment is for people with no WORK not people with no MONEY which makes zero sense but whatever

That's ridiculous! So basically there's this gap period where you're expected to just... what? Live on air? Did they at least let you set up a payment plan or something?

You need to request a formal appeal right away - you only have 30 days from when you receive the overpayment notice. While it's true that ESD generally considers employment based on hours worked rather than payment received, there are hardship provisions that might apply in your case. When you appeal, clearly explain your financial situation and ask for a waiver of the overpayment based on financial hardship.\n\nBe prepared with documentation showing:\n1. Your job offer letter showing monthly pay schedule\n2. Bank statements showing lack of income\n3. Bills showing what you're behind on\n4. Any communication with your employer confirming pay dates\n\nYou might also want to contact the ESD directly to explain your situation and see if they can offer any solutions before the formal appeal process.

Thank you for this detailed advice. I haven't received an official overpayment notice yet - it was just a warning in the system after I filed my weekly claim. Should I wait for the official notice before appealing or should I be proactive and contact them now?

I went thru this exact thing and it SUCKS!! ESD system is so broken. They make u report hours worked even when u haven't got paid yet but then they want the money back before u even get ur first check lol.

Truth! The system literally expects people to survive on nothing during that gap between starting work and getting paid. What did you end up doing about your overpayment?

I had the EXACT same thing happen to me last year. I tried calling ESD for 3 weeks straight but could never get through - their phone lines are ridiculous. I ended up having to use Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual agent. They have a service that calls ESD for you and connects you when an agent is available. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3\n\nOnce I finally got through to someone, they were actually helpful. The agent set me up with a payment plan so I didn't have to pay it all back at once. They can also sometimes approve hardship waivers if you qualify. But you NEED to talk to a real person - the online system won't help with this.

Thanks for the recommendation. I've been trying to call them all morning with no luck. I'll check out that service because I really need to talk to someone about this before it gets worse.

Wait a sec... everyone's saying you'll definitely have to repay, but that's not always true. I think there's something called

That's not exactly correct. \

dude ur fine dont worry bout it. they send those notices to everyone. just ignore it and theyll probably forget about it. worked for my cousin

This is extremely bad advice. Ignoring an overpayment notice from ESD doesn't make it go away - it makes it worse. They can and will send it to collections, garnish future wages, take tax refunds, add penalties, and even potentially file fraud charges in severe cases. NEVER ignore official notices from government agencies.

I don't have advice but I'm in a similar boat - started a new job 3 weeks ago but won't get paid until Dec 15th. I haven't told ESD yet because I'm scared of exactly this situation. Now I'm not sure what to do... keep quiet or be honest and risk having to pay back money I don't have. The system really doesn't account for how real jobs actually pay people!

While it might be tempting to delay reporting, that approach can backfire badly. If ESD discovers you're working (which they often do through employer reporting systems), you could face not just overpayment but potential fraud penalties. Those are much worse than a simple overpayment situation. I'd recommend reporting accurately and then working with them on a payment plan if needed.

One additional piece of advice - make sure to continue filing your weekly claims during this process, but report all hours worked accurately. Even if you're working full-time, keep filing until ESD specifically tells you to stop. This ensures your claim stays active while they're processing everything, which is important if you need to appeal or request adjustments. It also shows good faith that you're trying to follow their procedures.

I didn't know I should keep filing even though I'm working full-time now. Thanks for that tip - I'll make sure to keep doing my weekly claims and just report my hours accurately.