ESD sent approval then denial in same letter - school employee issue with University temp job

Yes, I've dealt with this exact issue! ESD has special rules for "educational institution employees" that can be really frustrating for temps/contractors. What they're doing is treating your temp assignments as if you were a teacher between terms, which is absolutely wrong for your situation. You need to file an appeal ASAP - you only have 30 days from the date on that letter. In your appeal, emphasize that: 1. You were a temporary employee with NO contract 2. You had NO reasonable assurance of future work 3. You specifically had a negative reference that prevented further assignments The key phrase you want to focus on is "no reasonable assurance" - that's what gets you out of the educational employee restriction. Good luck!

wait u were a temp worker at a college not an actual teacher? thats ridiuclous they shouldnt be treating you like a teacher on summer break lol. classic ESD nonsense. they just auto-deny anyone connected to schools without even looking at the details

The key to your situation is understanding ESD's "educational employee" provisions. These rules were designed to prevent teachers and other school staff from collecting unemployment during scheduled breaks when they have reasonable assurance of returning to work. Based on what you've described, you have a strong case for appeal because: 1. As a temp, you didn't have a continuing contract 2. The negative reference effectively eliminated your "reasonable assurance" of future work 3. The available positions differ significantly in pay (-30%) and working conditions from your previous role You should absolutely file an appeal and continue filing weekly claims during the appeal process. When you appeal, be very specific about how your situation differs from a regular educational employee with reasonable assurance of future work. You might also want to get a statement from the temp agency confirming that you were not guaranteed any future assignments after each contract ended. That documentation would strengthen your case considerably.

sorry for going off topic but your situation sounds EXACTLY like what happened to me last year!! i was a temp admin assistant at a community college and they denied me because of the "school employee" thing even though i was just a 3-month contract worker! i ended up winning my appeal though. just stay persistent!!!

Try calling ESD directly to explain your situation - sometimes you can get a claim specialist to fix this without going through the entire appeal process. Good luck trying to get through though, their phone lines are ALWAYS jammed 🙄 Been trying to reach them myself for 2 weeks about my identity verification issue.

KEEP FILING YOUR WEEKLY CLAIMS no matter what!!! Even while appealing!!!! If you win your appeal but haven't been filing claims, you won't get backpay for those weeks! I made this mistake and lost out on almost $3000 in benefits during my appeal process last year.

To expand on my earlier comment - when you appeal, you'll want to specifically address the "reasonable assurance" test mentioned in your denial letter. For temporary university employees, you need to emphasize: 1. Your assignments had definite end dates with no promise of continuation 2. The negative reference explicitly demonstrates you did NOT have reasonable assurance of future work 3. The substantial difference in pay (30% less) means available work doesn't meet the "similar wage" requirement 4. Your medical limitations (foot injury) combined with the lack of remote options means suitable work isn't available to you Also request a hearing rather than just a document review. Educational employee cases are often better resolved when you can explain your specific situation to a judge directly.

For your appeal, I recommend collecting the following evidence: 1. Your temp agency agreement showing the temporary nature of assignments 2. Documentation of assignment end dates 3. Evidence of the negative reference if possible 4. Medical documentation of your foot injury 5. A written statement explaining why the available positions aren't suitable (pay difference, no remote options, physical limitations) Submit your appeal through your eServices account for fastest processing. Appeals are currently taking 5-7 weeks to schedule, so be prepared for that timeline. And yes, absolutely continue filing weekly claims throughout the process.

Here's a tip that might save you time: sometimes these educational employee denials can be reversed more quickly by speaking directly with an adjudicator rather than going through the full appeal process. When you call ESD (which is admittedly difficult), specifically ask for your claim to be reviewed by an adjudicator regarding the educational employee provision. Emphasize that you were a temporary employee without reasonable assurance. Some adjudicators can overturn these decisions on the spot when they see it was clearly misapplied to a temp worker.

Just wanted to share that I had a similar issue last year as a part-time admin at a university. The key to getting it resolved was documenting everything about the temporary nature of my position. I collected emails from my supervisor confirming my assignment end date, my original job offer showing the temporary status, and the fact that there was no guarantee of future employment. My appeal was approved in about 4 weeks. In the meantime, I struggled financially, but I kept filing my weekly claims as required. When I finally won, I received all my back payments in one lump sum. For those struggling to reach ESD by phone, I eventually used Claimyr.com after wasting days trying to get through. Their service put me in line and called me back when an agent was available. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 The agent I spoke with was actually really helpful and flagged my case for expedited review once I explained my situation. Sometimes reaching a human makes all the difference!