Four weeks without ESD benefits for seasonal concrete worker - family of 5 struggling

i feel ur pain... ESD is a total nightmare to reach!! i was in the same boat last month with my seasonal construction job. kept calling and calling. tips: try calling RIGHT when they open at 8am exactly, like literally start dialing at 7:59. also try different days - i noticed tuesdays and wednesdays seemed less busy than mondays for some reason

For seasonal concrete workers, there might be an adjudication issue they're reviewing if this is a regular pattern of employment. When you file after seasonal work, ESD sometimes flags it for additional verification even if everything went smoothly last year. Here are some steps you can take: 1. Check your eServices account for any alerts or action items - sometimes they request information there without calling 2. Make sure your husband did his weekly claims every week without missing any 3. Look for any letters in the mail from ESD (they often send physical mail rather than electronic notifications) 4. Check if his union has an unemployment liaison who can help escalate the issue The fact that the benefits processed quickly last year but not this year suggests something changed in how his claim is being reviewed.

When this happened to my husband (also in construction), we found out later his employer disputed the claim even though it was a normal seasonal layoff!!! So frustrating. Have your husband check with his supervisor directly, not just the union. Sometimes the company HR people flag these things without telling the actual supervisors.

Try Claimyr.com - it's a service that helps you get through to ESD agents without the endless busy signals and disconnects. My brother-in-law used it when his claim was stuck for weeks and actually got through to a real person who fixed everything that same day. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. Seriously saved his family from disaster when they couldn't get gas money either.

@casual_commenter It is legit. I was skeptical too but when you're desperate to reach ESD and your bills are piling up, the service is worth it. Basically they navigate the ESD phone system for you and call you back when they've got an agent on the line.

IMPORTANT: Make absolutely sure he's answering ALL the weekly certification questions correctly. I'm in the electrical union (seasonal layoffs too) and found out my benefits were delayed because I answered the "able and available for work" question wrong one week. For union trades on standby, you need to say YES you're available for work through your union dispatch, but also indicate you're on standby. One wrong answer can trigger adjudication and delay everything by WEEKS. Also, double-check that his work search requirements are being met properly - even with standby status there might be some requirements depending on his specific situation.

THE SYSTEM IS RIGGED AGAINST US!!! I went through the EXACT same thing last winter with my seasonal job. They make it IMPOSSIBLE to reach anyone on purpose because they don't want to pay out benefits!!!! I ended up having to go to my state representative's office and have them contact ESD on my behalf. It was magically fixed within 48 hours after my rep's office called them. THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN ON PURPOSE!!!!!

Just a quick update on something I mentioned earlier - for concrete workers specifically, there was a policy change in late 2024 where they started reviewing seasonal claims more carefully because of some fraud issues in the construction industry. That might explain why this year is different from last year. Still doesn't excuse the lack of communication from ESD though.

have u tried emailing them? sometimes that works better than phones

UPDATE: We finally got through!!! Used the Claimyr service this morning and got connected to an actual human at ESD within 20 minutes. Turns out there was a flag on the account because my husband's employer hadn't responded to ESD's verification request. The agent was able to override it since this is a known seasonal pattern and they can see the history from previous years. Benefits should be deposited within 48 hours! I'm so relieved I could cry. Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions!