ESD payment suddenly pending after weeks of normal benefits - anyone else?

Yeah, this happens ALL THE TIME with ESD. They'll pay you consistently for weeks and then RANDOMLY decide they need more information. Check your Notices tab in eServices - there's probably some notice there that explains what they want. Could be anything from identity verification to work search verification to questions about your availability. It's super annoying that they don't tell you directly what's pending!

Omg exactly the same thing happened to me!! Was getting paid for like 6 weeks straight then suddenly "pending" with no explanation. Turns out they randomly selected me for a work search review. Had to upload all my job search logs even though I'd been entering them every week already. So frustrating! Took almost 3 weeks to resolve and I almost got evicted waiting for them to fix it.

This is a pretty common issue that can happen for several reasons. The most common causes are: 1. Random work search review (they select a percentage of claimants each week) 2. Quarterly wage review (happens when a quarter ends and they verify no unreported income) 3. Employer appeal or protest filed against your claim 4. System glitch (yes, this happens more than they admit) You should call ESD directly to find out exactly what's happening. Unfortunately, their phone lines are notoriously difficult to get through - they open at 8am and are usually full by 8:05am. You might need to call right when they open and keep trying.

I had pending payment for 2 months!!! called 47 times nerver got through. Emailed them 5 times no response. finally i went down to the WorkSource office in person and they couldn't even help me directly but at least told me what was going on. turns out my former employer was disputing my claim saying i quit voluntarily when i was actually laid off. complete BS but at least i knew what was happening.

I've been through this exact situation and wasted days trying to reach ESD by phone. I finally found a service called Claimyr that got me through to an ESD agent in about 30 minutes. You can check them out at claimyr.com - they have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. Basically they have a system that keeps dialing for you until they get through, then they call you back and connect you. It was the only way I could actually talk to someone about my pending payment issue. Turned out there was a flag on my account that needed to be removed by a specialist.

This happens frequently in my experience. I've been on and off unemployment over the past few years due to seasonal construction work, and about once every 8-10 weeks, there's some kind of random hold put on the account. One thing to try: log out completely, clear your browser cache, then log back in and file your weekly claim again. Sometimes there's a weird glitch where it shows pending on your end but ESD's system didn't actually receive all your information correctly. If that doesn't work, then yes, you'll need to call - preferably right at 8:00am sharp when their phone lines open.

BTW how did you get the governor's office to help with your claim?? I'm on week 7 of waiting for my initial benefits and getting desperate. Would love to know what you said that actually got results!

Just a quick update based on other comments - the quarterly wage review is a very likely culprit since we just finished Q1 2025. This happens automatically in their system and often creates a 1-2 week delay while they verify no unreported wages. If that's the case, it should resolve automatically, but calling to confirm is still your best option.

UPDATE: Finally got through to ESD this morning! You guys were right - it was a quarterly review thing. The agent said it should be resolved within 48 hours and my payment should come through by the end of the week. She also mentioned they're supposed to be implementing a new notification system later this year that will actually tell claimants WHY their payment is pending instead of leaving us in the dark. That would be a huge improvement!