ESD overpayment waiver from 2021 still showing 'pending review' in 2025 - anyone else waiting?

Yeah mine is still pending too from september 2021!!! Going on 3.5 years now and whenever i call they just say theres a backlog and im in the queue. its insane bcuz they keep sending me statements showing the amount i 'owe' with interest but then say don't pay it yet bcuz the waiver is still being processed?? makes no sense

I worked as an ESD adjudicator until last year, and can explain what's happening. The pandemic-era overpayment waivers are being processed in batches, with priority given to those with active collection activities. The department is severely understaffed for handling these legacy cases. Approximately 40,000 waiver requests from 2020-2022 are still in the system, and they're working through them chronologically with limited resources. Your best approach is to call and specifically request your case be escalated to the Special Claims Review Team, citing the 3+ year delay. They can flag certain cases for expedited review if you explain the financial hardship.

I waited 2.5 years for mine and finally just got it resolved last month! What finally worked was sending a formal complaint letter to my state representative. Within 3 weeks of doing that, I got a call from someone at ESD who expedited my review and approved my waiver. Try contacting your district's representative with all your case details.

After dealing with an overpayment issue similar to yours for months, I finally got through to an actual decision-maker at ESD using Claimyr (claimyr.com). Instead of calling endlessly and getting nowhere, the service got me connected to an ESD agent in about 20 minutes. The agent was able to check the status of my waiver and escalate it for review. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 - Definitely worth it for issues like this where you need to speak to an actual person who can help.

This whole system is RIGGED against us!!! They deliberately take YEARS to process these waivers hoping people will just give up and pay!! My cousin finally just paid his $2300 overpayment from 2021 because he got tired of waiting and was afraid they'd garnish his wages. THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN ON PURPOSE!!!

has anyone noticed the letters stopped coming for a while and then suddenly started again? i didnt get any notices for like 9 months and then suddenly in january i got 2 letters in one week about my 'debt' but still no decision on the waiver

For those still waiting, here's what you should do: 1. Document every communication with ESD (dates, agent names, what was discussed) 2. Submit a formal case escalation request through your eServices account using the "Send a Message" function - specifically use the phrase "Hardship Escalation Request for Pandemic Overpayment Waiver" 3. Call the dedicated overpayment line at (direct number redacted - call the main ESD number and request a transfer) 4. If you've been waiting more than 24 months, you qualify for the Administrative Resolution Program - specifically ask about this 5. Request written confirmation of your case status For context, a court ruling in July 2024 required ESD to process all remaining pandemic-era waivers by December 2025, so they are now working through the backlog more quickly.

my neighbor had the same thing and she just kept calling every single day for like 2 weeks straight until she finally got someone who helped her. sometimes you just gotta be super annoying lol

I finally got my pandemic overpayment waiver processed after 29 months of waiting. What ultimately worked was submitting a formal records request for my complete file through the Public Records Act. Within 3 weeks of submitting this request, my waiver was suddenly processed and approved. I think having someone pull my file for the records request put it in front of someone who could actually make a decision. Might be worth trying if you've been waiting years like I was.