Finally had my ESD overpayment waiver appeal hearing after 5 months of waiting

I went through an OAH hearing last year for a similar overpayment situation. In my case, I received the judge's decision exactly 15 days after the hearing. The good news is that having representation from Unemployment Law Project significantly increases your chances of success. They know exactly what legal arguments work with the judges. Make sure to check your mail daily (including your spam folder if they contact you electronically). The decision will come as an official document called an "Initial Order" that explains the judge's reasoning in detail. If the judge rules in your favor, ESD has 30 days to appeal that decision, but they rarely do. One tip: if you haven't already, send a follow-up email to your attorney thanking them for their help and asking them to let you know immediately if they hear anything. Sometimes the attorneys get the decision slightly before you do.

i had my hearing in january and still havent got a desision yet!!! its been like 14 weeks now and nobody will tell me whats going on. i call OAH and they just say "its still pending" every time. this whole system is a JOKE

For what it's worth, I had my appeal hearing back in February about a $4,300 overpayment. The judge ruled in my favor and waived the entire amount! It took about 3 weeks to get the decision. The fact that you had an attorney is HUGE - I didn't and I was so nervous I could barely speak during my hearing. Have you tried checking your appeal status online through the OAH portal? Sometimes they update the status there before sending the official decision. By the way, if anyone else is struggling to reach ESD by phone to discuss overpayments or appeals, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual human at ESD in about 20 minutes instead of spending days trying to get through. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. Totally worth it for the peace of mind of actually talking to someone who could explain my options.

CONGRATZ on getting ur hearing!!! mine took 8 months to finally happen and then the judge ruled against me anyway so now im on a payment plan for the next 4 years paying back $9,000 😭😭😭 ESD is the absolute worst agency ever!!!! The whole time my adjudicator kept sayin different things in different letters i got

I had a similar overpayment issue ($5,800) and also worked with ULP. My hearing was in December and I got my decision in January - they waived the entire amount! The judge actually scolded ESD in the decision for not properly explaining the reporting requirements. One thing I learned during my process: judges care A LOT about whether you made an honest mistake vs. trying to deceive ESD. If you can show you were trying your best to follow the rules and just misunderstood something, they're usually pretty sympathetic. FYI - if for some reason the judge doesn't rule in your favor, don't panic. You can request a payment plan as low as $25/month. Also, ESD cannot garnish your wages or take money from your bank account without going through additional legal processes first.

my neighbpr had this same exact problem last year!!! she sad it took almost a month to get the desicion but they ruled in her favor. but then ESD still tried to colect the money anyway!!! she had to call them like 5 times to get it fixed. make shore you keep ALL your paperwork

I work as an employment counselor and see overpayment cases regularly. Here's what typically happens after an OAH hearing: 1. Judge issues decision within 2-4 weeks (average is about 18 days) 2. If you win, ESD has 30 days to implement the decision or file their own appeal 3. If ESD doesn't appeal, the overpayment should be waived and removed from your account The fact that you had representation from ULP is excellent. Their attorneys win the vast majority of their cases. The most common reason judges waive overpayments is financial hardship, so all those documents you provided showing your expenses and income will be crucial. One thing to prepare for: if you win, you might still see the overpayment listed in your ESD account for a few weeks until they process the waiver. Don't panic if this happens - it's just administrative lag time.

I know exactly how you feel about the stress. I had an overpayment issue too but never got as far as an appeal hearing because I couldn't figure out the process. I just ended up on a payment plan ($150/month for 3 years). It's hard but I'm managing. The whole system seems designed to be confusing. Good luck and let us know how it turns out!