Final weekly claim after job offer - claim through Sunday or stop immediately?
I finally got a job offer after 3 months of searching (retail management position) and I start this coming Monday. I'm confused about when I should stop filing my weekly claims with ESD. Should I file one last claim for this current week ending on Sunday? Or should I stop filing immediately since I've accepted the offer? I don't want to accidentally commit fraud or create an overpayment situation, but I also don't want to leave money on the table if I'm still eligible until my first day of work. Does anyone know the official rule on this? Thanks in advance for the help!
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Liam McGuire
Congrats on the job! You can (and should) file your weekly claim for the week ending on Sunday. You're still technically unemployed until you actually start working. When you file, just make sure to report that you've accepted an offer but haven't started work yet. There's usually a question about job offers/future employment on the weekly claim form. As long as you accurately report everything, you're good to go!
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Mei Zhang
•Thank you! I wasn't sure if accepting an offer counted as being employed or not. Makes sense that I'm still unemployed until actually working. I'll be careful to answer that question about future employment correctly.
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Amara Eze
you should definately file!! you arent working yet so ur unemployed til monday. just say yes when it asks if you have a job offer
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Mei Zhang
•Thanks! Glad to hear this is the correct approach.
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Giovanni Ricci
You should claim through the last week you're not working. So yes, file for this week ending Sunday. When you file, there will be a question asking if you've accepted an offer of work - answer YES to that and provide the date you'll be starting (Monday). The system will automatically calculate your eligibility up to your start date. It's not fraud as long as you're accurately reporting. Just make sure you stop claiming after this week since you'll be employed starting Monday.
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NeonNomad
•THIS ⬆️ ESD wants exact details, not just general answers. If u mess up they'll send u overpayment notices months later and ur stuck dealing with appeals. Been there!!!
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Fatima Al-Hashemi
i had same thing happen in january and i called ESD to be sure. took me FOREVER to get through to anyone. if i could do over i woulda used that claimyr service (claimyr.com) - saw a video about it later (https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3) and it gets u through to ESD way faster. but anyway when i finally got thru they said file thru sunday and then stop. make sure u tell them about the job offer when it asks
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Mei Zhang
•Thanks for sharing that resource! Might be useful if I have any issues with my final claim. Glad to hear from someone who was in the same boat.
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Dylan Mitchell
PLEASE DON'T LISTEN TO PEOPLE TELLING YOU TO KEEP CLAIMING!!! The moment you accept a job offer you MUST STOP claiming or it's FRAUD!!! ESD will find out and you'll have to pay EVERYTHING back with penalties!!! I know someone who went to JAIL for this!!!
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Giovanni Ricci
•This is incorrect information. Per ESD's own guidelines, you remain eligible for benefits until you actually start working. Accepting a job offer for future employment does not immediately disqualify you - you just need to report it accurately on your weekly claim. The claim form specifically asks about job offers with future start dates for this reason. No one is going to jail for properly reporting this information.
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Dylan Mitchell
•Well maybe the rules changed but my cousin's friend definitely got in huge trouble for something like this in 2025!!! Better safe than sorry!!!
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Sofia Martinez
•@profile3 Your cousin's friend must have done something else wrong. I've worked at WorkSource and helped hundreds of claimants with this exact situation. The official ESD guidance is very clear that you claim until your first day of work, not until you accept an offer. The key is HONEST REPORTING of all information, including the job offer and start date.
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Sofia Martinez
To give you the official answer: You should file your weekly claim through the Sunday before you start work. During that claim, you'll need to answer "yes" to the question asking if you've accepted an offer of work, and provide the date you'll start. As long as you answer all questions truthfully, you're following the proper procedure. When you start work on Monday, you'll stop filing weekly claims. If for some reason your job falls through, you can restart your claim process, but you'd need to explain the gap in filing.
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Mei Zhang
•Thank you for the clear explanation! This is really helpful and gives me peace of mind about doing the right thing.
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Amara Eze
congrats on the new job!! what kind of retail management? i been looking for something similar
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Mei Zhang
•Thanks! It's assistant manager at a home goods store. I found it through Indeed after applying to about 40 different places. Retail hiring seems to be picking up a bit now for summer season, so hopefully you'll find something soon!
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