Governor's Office finally helped! ESD claim approved after 5 months of adjudication with ZERO contact
FINALLY got some movement on my claim after reaching out to the Governor's Office! I've been stuck in adjudication hell since July (5 months!!) with absolutely no communication from ESD about what was wrong with my claim. Lost my job in healthcare administration due to department restructuring and thought filing would be straightforward - NOPE. After calling ESD literally 40+ times (either couldn't get through or got disconnected), I called the Governor's Office yesterday as a last resort. Two hours later, I got a call from an actual ESD representative! Then this morning at 1:30 AM, I received an email notification about a new letter in my account - MY CLAIM WAS APPROVED!! I still have my backdate adjudication to get through, but at least the main claim is moving now. For anyone who's contacted the Governor's Office to get your claim unstuck - how long did it take before everything was fully resolved? I'm worried about the backdate portion since I've been jobless since July and really need those funds. Still don't know what the two adjudication items even were since nobody ever contacted me for additional information. The whole system feels completely broken. 😩
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Yara Nassar
Congrats on finally getting movement! I had to go the governor route too back in February. Took about a week after their intervention before my backdate issue was resolved. But it varies a lot. The rep who called me was super apologetic and said they're still dealing with major staffing shortages in 2025... same excuse for the last 5 years lol
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QuantumQuester
•A week would be amazing! Did they actually explain what your adjudication issues were? I'm still in the dark about what triggered mine in the first place.
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Keisha Williams
The governors office trick works like 50% of the time in my experience. Had a friend who tried it and nothing happened for another month. The system is completely broken! I waited 4 months last year and my adjudication was over something totally stupid - they thought I was working for my previous employer because I listed the wrong end date by accident. NOBODY CALLED TO VERIFY. They just left me hanging for MONTHS!!
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QuantumQuester
•That's exactly what's driving me crazy! If there was a simple issue, why not just call or email me? Instead they make us wait in silence for months while bills pile up. It's inhumane.
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Paolo Ricci
I've been trying to reach ESD for 3 weeks about my adjudication and it's impossibly. How did you contact the Governor's Office exactly? Did you call or email? I'm getting desperate and might try the same approach.
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QuantumQuester
•I called the constituent services line directly at 360-902-4111. Just explained my situation calmly but mentioned the financial hardship the delay was causing. They took my info and said they'd forward it to ESD. I honestly didn't expect anything to happen, but I got that call just two hours later!
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Amina Toure
Have you tried using Claimyr? It's a service that helps you get through to ESD agents without the endless redial game. I was skeptical but it worked for me when I was stuck in adjudication last month. They connect you directly to an ESD agent who can actually see your claim details. Check out their demo video: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 or go to claimyr.com. Might be worth trying for your backdate issue so you don't have to wait another 5 months.
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QuantumQuester
•Thanks for the suggestion! If I don't see movement on the backdate portion in the next week, I'll definitely check this out. At this point I'd try almost anything to avoid another multi-month wait.
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Oliver Zimmermann
same thing happend 2 me last year. govenors office fixed in 3 days after 4 months of nothing. its crazy how fast they can move when someone important makes them do their job lol
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QuantumQuester
•3 days would be amazing! And you're right - suddenly they CAN process things quickly when there's pressure from above. Makes you wonder why the normal process is so broken.
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CosmicCommander
I work with unemployment claims professionally, and here's what's likely happening with your backdate request: Those are processed by a separate team than regular claims. Since your claim was just approved yesterday, your backdate request will need to be re-assigned to an adjudicator, which typically takes 7-10 business days in the current ESD workflow. Once assigned, backdating is usually straightforward unless there's a specific issue with your work separation or availability during that period. My advice: Wait one week, then if you don't see movement, contact ESD again (early morning calls typically have shorter wait times) and specifically ask about the status of your backdate adjudication. Make sure to mention that your main claim was just approved after Governor's Office intervention, as this can sometimes help prioritize your case.
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QuantumQuester
•Thank you so much for this detailed explanation! That helps me understand the process much better. I'll follow your advice and wait a week before taking further action. It's frustrating but at least I have a clearer picture of the timeline now.
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Natasha Volkova
I don't get why everyone complains about ESD so much. I filed my claim last month and got approved in like 3 days with no issues at all. Maybe y'all are just filling things out wrong? Just saying...
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Keisha Williams
•Wow, really helpful comment there. 🙄 Some claims trigger automatic adjudication for things totally outside our control. My separation was a standard layoff with zero complications, forms filled perfectly, and I still waited 4 months. Consider yourself LUCKY rather than superior.
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QuantumQuester
•Good for you. Many of us have perfectly straightforward claims that get stuck for months for reasons never explained to us. I've been filing taxes for 25 years and have filled out plenty of government forms correctly. This isn't a user error issue - it's a broken system issue.
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Yara Nassar
quick update - did they explain what the hold up was about your claim when they called? sometimes knowing helps prevent issues on future claims
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QuantumQuester
•Shockingly, no! The ESD agent who called just said they were following up on the Governor's Office inquiry and would expedite my claim review. Never mentioned what the actual issues were. The approval letter just states my weekly benefit amount and eligibility period, but nothing about what caused the delay. It's maddening.
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