Got ESD payment after 5+ weeks by contacting Governor's office - success story!
After 5 weeks and 3 days of watching my claims sit in pending purgatory, I FINALLY got paid yesterday! For anyone stuck in the same boat, here's what worked for me. I tried calling ESD about 30 times over those weeks - either couldn't get through or was promised callbacks that never happened. Finally got desperate enough to contact the Governor's office (called twice over three days). Magically, within 48 hours of my second call, all my pending claims suddenly processed and the money was in my account this morning. Total backpay came to $4,325. Not sure if it was coincidence or if someone actually flagged my account, but after weeks of stress and nearly missing my rent payment, I'm just relieved. Has anyone else had to go to these lengths to get their claims processed? Seems ridiculous we have to escalate things this high just to get what we're entitled to!
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Sadie Benitez
OMG THANK U FOR POSTING THIS!!! My claims have been pending for almost 4 weeks now and im about to lose my mind. i've tried callng like 20+ times and either get hung up on or sit on hold foreverrrr. Where exactly did you find the governor's office number? Is it just on the website? I'm so desperate at this point i'll try anything!
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Abby Marshall
•I just googled "WA Governor contact information" and used the constituent services number. Make sure you have your claim ID ready and be specific about how long you've been waiting and what financial hardship it's causing. They took my info and said they'd forward it to ESD's executive team.
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Drew Hathaway
congrats on finally getting paid! i was stuck in adjudication for almost 8 weeks last year and nearly got evicted. never thought of calling the governor tho, thats smart
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Laila Prince
•While contacting the Governor's office can sometimes help, there are several other escalation options worth trying first: 1. Contact your state representative or senator - they often have caseworkers dedicated to helping with ESD issues 2. Request a formal escalation through the ESD's escalation team by noting hardship 3. Submit a formal complaint through the ESD website Most claims that stay pending that long have an identity verification or adjudication issue that needs specific attention.
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Isabel Vega
I had a similar experience but instead of calling the governor i just kept calling the regular esd number every day until i got through. took me 2 weeks of trying but when i finally got a person on the phone they fixed everything right away. said my claim had some "flag" on it for employment verification that no one was actually working on. such a broken system!!
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Sadie Benitez
•how did you even get through?? i've been calling at exactly 8:00 am when they open and still can't get past the automated system. it just says high call volume and hangs up on me EVERY TIME! so frustrating!!!
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Dominique Adams
Contacting the Governor's office worked because they have a special liaison with ESD who can prioritize cases. This is actually a well-established escalation path when normal channels fail. One thing to understand about the ESD system is that some claims get automatically flagged for issues but then sit in a queue with no actual person assigned to review them. These political escalation paths essentially force assignment of your case to a real person. Another effective approach is using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an agent without the endless redial process. They have a system that keeps dialing until it gets through, then calls you back when an agent is on the line. Saved me hours of frustration when my claim was stuck. They have a video demo of how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3
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Marilyn Dixon
•thanks for mentioning this! i think i've heard of claimyr before but didn't know how it worked. might be worth trying since i'm going on week 6 of pending and am getting desperate.
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Isabel Vega
It's weird how random ESD seems to be with processing claims. My roommate filed the same day as me, we both got laid off from the same company, and his went through in 10 days while mine took almost 2 months!!! Makes no sense at all.
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Abby Marshall
•That's exactly what was driving me crazy! My coworker who got laid off the same day had no issues at all. I think it's just luck of the draw whether your claim gets flagged for review or not. And then it's another lottery whether anyone actually looks at it in a reasonable timeframe.
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Laila Prince
For those experiencing extended delays with ESD claims, here's what's likely happening behind the scenes: 1. Your claim probably has an issue flag requiring manual review (adjudication) 2. There's a massive backlog of these cases and limited adjudicators 3. Cases are generally handled in the order received UNLESS escalated 4. Escalation can occur through multiple channels (hardship, legislative contact, Governor's office) The current average wait for adjudication is approximately 4-6 weeks without escalation. If you're approaching that timeframe and facing financial hardship, you should absolutely use escalation channels. Document everything and be prepared to quickly provide any requested information. Keep filing your weekly claims during this time - when approved, you'll receive all back payments for eligible weeks.
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Sadie Benitez
•do we know WHY there's such a huge backlog still??? i thought all the pandemic unemployment stuff was over years ago. shouldn't they have caught up by now???
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Louisa Ramirez
I don't think contacting the Governor is the best approach for everyone. I was in a similar situation last month, and what worked for me was finding my state representative's contact info and reaching out to their office. My rep has a staff member who specifically handles ESD issues, and they were able to move my claim through within a week of contacting them. It's unfortunate that we have to resort to political pressure to get our claims processed, but at least there are options when you're stuck in pending status for weeks.
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Drew Hathaway
•this is good advice too! i contacted my state senator last year when i had issues and they actually called me back the same day. didn't fix my problem right away but at least i felt like someone was listening
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Isabel Vega
Im just wondering why they make this process so DIFFICULT??!! We worked and paid into the system but when we need help its like pulling teeth to get it!!! The system is designed to make people give up. I had a friend who just stopped trying after 2 months of trying to get his claim fixed.
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Abby Marshall
•I honestly think it's a mix of understaffing, outdated systems, and maybe a bit of intentional difficulty to reduce payouts. I almost gave up too. The worst part was having to continue claiming every week with no idea if I'd ever actually see that money. Really messes with your mental health.
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