Fired after reporting COVID exposure at school - ESD claim stuck in pending for 4 weeks

I'm so sorry this happened to you! The school district's behavior sounds completely unethical. They can't just fire you for legitimate medical absences with doctor's notes! Regarding your ESD claim, unfortunately 'pending' for 4 weeks is pretty common right now. My claim was stuck in pending for almost 6 weeks before it finally moved to paid status. The system is still really backed up from what I've heard. Did you get any kind of disqualification letter or request for more information?

That termination sounds like it might qualify as wrongful termination, especially with doctor's notes and COVID exposure. When your claim is in pending status, it usually means it's either in the adjudication queue or they're verifying information with your employer. The school district or staffing agency might be challenging your claim by saying you were fired for cause. I'd recommend checking your ESD correspondence tab daily for any letters or questionnaires they might send. And yes, unfortunately 3-6 weeks in pending is common right now. Keep filing your weekly claims without fail while you wait.

omg the school districts around here are terrible with their contract workers. my cousin went through something similar with Kent last year. also keep in mind if you were working through a staffing agency, sometimes ESD has to verify employment details with BOTH the agency AND the district which takes forever because neither one wants to take responsibility. my cousins claim took 8 weeks to get approved and she had to call like 50 times

Your claim is likely in adjudication, which means an ESD specialist needs to review the details and make a determination. Since your separation involves potential misconduct allegations (the employer claiming attendance issues despite your doctor's notes), it automatically triggers adjudication. This is taking 4-8 weeks currently based on what I've seen. My advice: 1. Continue filing weekly claims without fail 2. Check your eServices account daily, especially the "Decisions" and "Notices/Letters" tabs 3. Upload your doctor's notes to the document section if you haven't already 4. Try reaching ESD by phone - but this is extremely difficult right now I went through this last year and finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an ESD agent after weeks of trying on my own. They have a system that connects you with ESD without spending days redialing. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 The agent was able to see my claim was sitting in a queue and escalated it for review.

Not trying to be negative but I think ur claim mite be flagged for employer dispute. When I got laid off from a teaching assistant position they told ESD I had "excessive absences" even though I had approved time off. ESD put me in adjudication for 7 weeks!!!! Eventually got approved but had to answer like 20 questions about attendance and provide all emails showing approved time off. Check ur notices tab every day!!!!

When I was stuck in pending for 5 weeks, I contacted my state representative's office and they were able to help escalate my claim. It doesn't always work, but it's worth a try if you're getting desperate. Just google "WA state representative finder" and put in your address to find out who represents you, then email their office explaining the situation and include your claim ID number (not your SSN). My rep's office got back to me in 2 days and my claim was resolved a week later.

If your claim says PENDING it means the computer hasnt found any issues YET but it doesn't mean there wont be issues later. If it says ADJUDICATION that means theres already an issue identified that needs review. Did you get seperation information request form? They always send that to both you and employer and if your answers don't match it triggers adjudication. Its really important to check all tabs in eServices not just the main page!

Based on what you've shared, you should have received a separation questionnaire within the first two weeks. The fact that you haven't received one yet could mean either 1) there's a technical issue, 2) your claim is stuck in a preliminary review, or 3) your employer hasn't responded to their questionnaire yet (they have 10 business days). At this point, getting through to ESD by phone is really your best option so they can check what's happening with your specific claim. When I was using Claimyr (claimyr.com), the agent told me that many claims were getting stuck in automated processes without being flagged for manual review. They had to manually move my claim to an adjudicator's queue. Might be worth connecting with them to check your status.

be super careful with how u answer the weekly claim questions!! my boyfriend got fired from his warehouse job and his claim was pending forever until we realized he accidentally clicked YES to 'did you refuse any work' when he meant NO. small mistakes can trigger adjudication and then ur stuck for weeks. double check everything!!!

After reading through your responses, I think you're dealing with a combination of issues: 1) A separation that requires adjudication due to potential misconduct allegations, 2) Possible delays due to involving both a staffing agency and school district, and 3) The normal ESD backlog. One thing worth mentioning - if your claim is approved and you're found eligible, you'll get paid for all those weeks you've been claiming while in pending status. So keep filing those weekly claims! If the Claimyr service helps you reach an agent, ask them to specifically check if your claim needs to be manually moved to an adjudicator's queue, and whether your employer(s) have responded to their separation questionnaire.