ESD questioning my 'available to work' status suddenly after weeks of approved claims

yep happened to me too! they just randomly decided to question my availability after 6 weeks of no problems. had to send them my full job search log even tho i already uploaded it to my claim. took an extra 4 days to get paid that week. so annoying.

This is actually a fairly common issue. ESD randomly does these 'availability assessments' to make sure people aren't collecting benefits while actually being unavailable to accept work (like if you're out of town, have transportation issues, or childcare limitations that would prevent you from starting a job). Make sure you can document that: 1. You had no restrictions on your schedule during that week 2. You had reliable transportation available 3. Any dependent care was arranged 4. You had no travel outside your job market If you've been meeting with your WorkSource counselor, ask them to send an email to ESD confirming your active participation. That often resolves these flags quickly.

When did u get the notification exactly? Was it a letter in mail or on ur eservices account? Im worried they might do this to me too but i never know where to look for these updates.

I've been through this exact situation. It's important to understand that 'available for work' means you must be ready to accept suitable work immediately if offered. A routine doctor's appointment won't disqualify you, but you should still document it. Here's what I recommend submitting: 1. A written statement detailing your daily availability that week (be specific about hours) 2. Evidence of your job search activities (printouts of applications, email confirmations) 3. A timeline of your typical day showing you were able to work 4. Documentation of any appointments with brief explanations Typically, they just need reassurance you weren't on vacation or had other commitments preventing work. They do these checks randomly, not necessarily because you did anything wrong.

Dealing with ESD is SOOOOO frustrating!!! I had the EXACT same thing happen to me last month. They flagged my claim for "availability" issues after approving like 10 weeks with no problems. I tried calling them for 3 DAYS STRAIGHT and couldn't get through - their phone system is a complete joke. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual ESD agent instead of wasting hours redialing. They have this video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 The agent told me these random checks are part of their fraud prevention and explained exactly what documentation I needed to submit. Got my issue resolved that day instead of waiting weeks for someone to look at my online responses. Worth it for the peace of mind alone!

dont stress too much, its a normal thing they do. my sister works at esd (not in claims dept tho) and she says they have to randomly check a certain % of claims every week. its like getting randomly selected for extra screening at airport lol

Quick update for everyone on this thread: ESD recently adjusted their availability requirements verification process. As of 2025, they're conducting these random checks on approximately 15% of all active claims each month as part of their fraud prevention measures. Important to note: When responding to availability queries, be precise about hours and don't overexplain. Simply document that you were available for full-time work (40 hours) during standard business hours, with brief notes about any appointments that temporarily made you unavailable (like doctor visits). Over-explaining can sometimes trigger additional questions. Also, if you're on standby with your employer, make sure to clarify that in your response, as the availability requirements are slightly different.

Has anybody else noticed these "availability" checks always seem to happen when your claim is almost up?? Happened to me right around week 20 of my 26 weeks. I swear they do this on purpose to try to disqualify people before they use all their benefits. The whole system is designed to make people give up!!!

UPDATE: Wanted to let everyone know my situation got resolved! I called ESD this morning (got through after 35 minutes on hold) and the agent explained they were doing a random quarterly check on my claim. She said the doctor's appointment wasn't an issue as long as I was available to work the rest of the week. She approved my claim while I was on the phone and said the payment should process tonight. So relieved! Thanks everyone for your help and advice. Seems like this really is just a random thing they do occasionally.