ESD pandemic overpayment waiver taking forever - submitted in April 2025

Thanks for sharing your timeline! That makes me feel a bit better. Did you have to call them at all during the wait or did you just let it process? I'm worried I might have missed something in my application.

This is really common right now. ESD is severely understaffed in the overpayment department specifically. I work with clients dealing with these issues all the time. If you need to reach them quickly, I recommend using Claimyr (claimyr.com). They can get you through to an ESD agent without the endless hold times. Their video demo shows how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. The service helped several of my clients get their waiver issues resolved much faster than waiting for ESD to get to their case.

The pandemic overpayment waivers are for people who received benefits during 2020-2021 and were later found to have been overpaid due to verification issues, employer protests, or eligibility changes. ESD is now allowing people to request these overpayments be waived if repayment would cause financial hardship or if the overpayment wasn't your fault. You can apply through your eServices account - there's a section specifically for overpayment waivers. You'll need to provide financial information and explanation of why you qualify. The deadline for filing is July 31, 2025, so you still have time to apply for yours.

That's not entirely accurate. I literally just got my waiver approved yesterday after waiting 6 weeks. They waived the entire $3,780 I supposedly owed. They're definitely approving some of them, but the wait is long. Your brother should call and check on his status - it shouldn't take 4+ months.

I just checked and don't see anything there, but that's a good reminder! I'll keep checking my spam folder regularly. Did you have to upload any additional documents after your initial submission?

That's really helpful advice. I haven't started a payment plan yet because I was hoping the waiver would be approved before they started collections. Should I set up a payment plan while waiting for the waiver decision?

It's a bit of a catch-22. Setting up a payment plan acknowledges the debt, but not setting one up risks collections. What I usually advise clients is to call ESD and request a temporary hold on collections while your waiver is being processed. Get the agent's name and ID number, and note the date and time of the call. This creates a record that you've been proactive.

This happened to me too! I updated my address in eServices but they still sent it to my old place. I had to call and have them resend everything.

Thank you so much for this detailed information! It's really helpful to understand the timelines and process better. I'll wait another couple weeks before calling them.

They are definitely reviewing the financial information carefully. Be as accurate and detailed as possible. They're specifically looking at your income-to-expense ratio to determine financial hardship. Include ALL regular expenses including housing, utilities, food, transportation, insurance, medical costs, and debt payments. If your expenses exceed or nearly match your income, that strengthens your case for a waiver.

This is exactly why I mentioned Claimyr earlier. Instead of waiting on hold for hours, they get you a callback from an ESD agent, typically within 1-2 hours. I've seen the wait time estimates go up to 4+ hours recently, which is ridiculous when people are trying to resolve important financial issues. The video on their site shows exactly how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3

This is incorrect information. The waiver program was mandated by federal guidelines, not created by ESD independently. Additionally, acknowledging an overpayment doesn't reset the statute of limitations in Washington for unemployment debt. The waivers are a legitimate way to have valid overpayments forgiven based on financial hardship or absence of fault. Please be careful about spreading misinformation that might prevent people from seeking legitimate relief.