ESD standby status confusion - active claim and return-to-work date issues

ur not in the right place. standby request has to be done when u file ur weekly claim. theres a question that asks if ur still looking for work, u say no, then select standby as the reason. then you put in ur return date.

The 2-week limit is because standard standby approval from ESD is only automatic if your return-to-work date is within 2 weeks. For dates beyond that (like your May 1st date), your employer needs to request the extended standby directly from ESD. The maximum standby period allowed in 2025 is 8 weeks under current regulations. So you should: 1. Continue filing your weekly claims 2. Answer "no" to the job search question 3. Select "standby" as your reason 4. Enter May 1st as your return date 5. Make sure your employer has requested the extended standby period If your employer hasn't requested the extended standby, your request might be denied and you'd need to complete job searches instead.

THEY DON'T TELL YOU ANY OF THIS ON THE WEBSITE!!! i got denied standby last year because i put in my return date (which was 5 weeks away) without knowing my boss had to do something on their end!! then i got hit with a job search requirement violation because i thought i was on standby! ESD is AWFUL about explaining these things!!!!!

I was getting so confused about this same issue last month! Just to add a bit more detail to what others have said - when you select "standby" during your weekly claim filing, you'll get a message saying something like "Your standby request will be reviewed." That doesn't mean it's approved yet. You'll get a separate determination letter about your standby status a few days later. If you haven't already, you should really contact your employer ASAP to make sure they've submitted their part of the standby request for the May 1st date. Otherwise, you'll need to do your job search activities each week.

I went through something similar back in february when my restaurant was closed for renovations. The key thing is communication with your employer. They need to submit form ESD 5612 to request the extended standby period. The form needs to be submitted BEFORE you request standby on your weekly claim. I was trying to reach ESD for days to confirm if my employer had submitted the right paperwork and couldn't get through. I ended up using Claimyr (claimyr.com) which got me connected to an actual ESD agent within about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 The agent was able to confirm my employer had submitted everything correctly and I could proceed with requesting standby. Saved me a lot of stress!

One thing nobody mentioned - even while on standby you still have to file your weekly claims! My buddy lost 3 weeks of benefits cause he thought once standby was approved he didn't need to do anything else until his return date. Don't make that mistake!

If your standby request gets denied, you'd receive a determination letter explaining why. The most common reasons are: 1. Return date too far in the future without employer verification 2. Employer failed to submit their portion of the request 3. You've exceeded the maximum standby period allowable If denied, you would immediately become subject to job search requirements (3 activities per week) retroactive to when you requested standby. This means you could potentially be disqualified for those weeks if you haven't been doing job searches while waiting for approval. As a precaution, some people continue doing and documenting job searches even while waiting for standby approval, just in case.

Update: I talked to my employer and they're submitting the form today. I'm going to do my weekly claim tomorrow and select standby as my reason. I'll also document some job searches just in case something goes wrong with the standby approval. Thanks everyone for your help! This whole system is so complicated and the website really doesn't explain any of this clearly.