Governor's office promised to escalate my ESD claim but still showing pending status
Has anyone had success getting their claim unstuck by contacting the Governor's office? I've been in pending status for 7 weeks now and finally called the Governor's office yesterday morning out of desperation. The woman I spoke with was actually really kind and said they would 'escalate' my case to ESD. She even took down all my info and claim details. It's been 24 hours and nothing has changed in my eServices account - still showing pending, no messages, and no callback. I appreciate that they were empathetic (unlike the automated ESD system that hangs up on me), but I'm wondering if this 'escalation' actually does anything or if it's just to make us feel better? Anyone have their claim move forward after Governor intervention? How long did it take? I'm down to my last $270 and rent is due next week.
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Nia Johnson
Governor's office escalation actually worked for me, but it took about 4 business days to see movement. I called on a Monday, and by Friday my pending status changed to paid. The key is to follow up with them if you don't see changes by next week. They likely submitted your info to the ESD special unit that handles these escalations, but that team is probably backed up too. Make sure your claim doesn't have any issues in the "Decisions" tab that you need to address. Sometimes there are hidden issues that aren't obvious from just the main status screen.
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Luca Conti
•Thank you for the hope! I didn't know I should check the Decisions tab - just looked and there's nothing there. My worry is I applied for standby status (my employer is bringing us back in 6 weeks) but never got confirmation if it was approved. Do you think that could be what's holding things up?
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CyberNinja
The governors office is USELESS!!! i tried this 3x last year and they just send u a generic email saying they'll "look into it" but NOTHING HAPPENS!!! its all for show!! try calling ur state representative instead, that worked better for me but still took 3 WEEKS to get paid. the whole system is rigged agianst us!!
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Mateo Lopez
•I understand your frustration, but the Governor's office can be helpful in many cases. Their effectiveness often depends on the specific issue with your claim. For standby status issues (which the OP mentioned), they can actually expedite review. However, for more complex issues like identity verification or employer disputes, legislative representatives sometimes have better direct channels. I recommend the OP try both approaches if they don't see movement within a week.
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Aisha Abdullah
I was in your exact situation in January - stuck pending for 9 weeks with standby status not being processed. I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual ESD agent after trying for weeks on my own. You can see their video demo here: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 The agent was able to look at my file and saw that my standby request was sitting in a separate queue waiting for review. They manually moved it forward while I was on the phone. Got paid 2 days later. Sometimes you just need to speak to someone who can actually see what's happening behind the scenes with your claim.
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Luca Conti
•I've never heard of Claimyr before. Does it actually work? I'm willing to try anything at this point. Did they explain why your standby was stuck? That might be exactly what's happening to me.
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Aisha Abdullah
•Yes, it worked for me. The ESD agent explained that standby requests go through a separate approval process, and sometimes they get stuck in a backlog, especially if your employer hasn't responded to ESD's verification request. The agent could see that my employer had actually approved it, but it hadn't been processed on ESD's end. Definitely worth trying if you're getting desperate.
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Ethan Davis
this happened to my brother too! governor office said theyd help but nothing for like 5 days then suddenly money appeared without any emails or anything just check your account every day
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Yuki Tanaka
I'm currently on week 10 of waiting for my claim to process, and I've tried everything - regular calls to ESD, messages through eServices, contacting my state rep, AND the governor's office. Here's what I've learned: 1. The Governor's office does help, but their escalations take 3-7 business days to have any effect 2. Standby status is a HUGE source of delays right now - ESD is scrutinizing these much more carefully in 2025 than they did during COVID 3. If your employer doesn't respond to ESD's verification request for standby, your claim sits in limbo What worked for me (finally) was having my employer call ESD directly about my standby status. Ask your HR person or manager to call the employer line and confirm they approve your standby. My claim was approved 2 days after my employer called.
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Luca Conti
•You're a lifesaver! I'm going to contact my boss right now and ask them to call ESD. I didn't even know there was a separate employer line. Did your online status change right away after approval or was there still a delay? I'm checking eServices obsessively.
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Yuki Tanaka
•There was still about a 48-hour delay between when my employer called and when my status changed online. The first sign was that my weekly claim status changed from "pending" to "processing" and then to "paid" the next day. Just make sure your boss calls the Employer Line (not the regular claimant line) - the number is different and they actually answer those calls!
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Carmen Ortiz
i think its nice that the gov office peeps were kind to u but honestly being nice doesnt pay bills lol. my friend had luck with the govs office but i didnt. prob depends who gets ur case and if they actually do anything with it or just pretend to help. anyway good luck hope u get ur $$$
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Luca Conti
UPDATE: WOW you guys were right! I just checked my account and my status changed from pending to paid!! It happened exactly 5 business days after contacting the governor's office. No calls, no emails, no explanation - the money is just scheduled for deposit tomorrow. For anyone else stuck in pending purgatory, especially with standby status issues, the governor's office escalation DOES work - just be patient for about a week. I also had my employer call the employer line yesterday after seeing the advice here, so that might have helped too. THANK YOU all for the advice and support during this stressful time. This forum has been more helpful than any official ESD resource.
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Yuki Tanaka
•Great news! So glad it worked out for you. This is pretty typical of how ESD operates - they fix the issue but don't communicate anything. At least you got your money!
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Nia Johnson
•Thanks for coming back with an update! This will be really helpful for others in the same situation. Always good to hear success stories with the unemployment system.
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Isabella Oliveira
This is such a relief to read your update! I've been stuck in pending for 3 weeks now and was starting to lose hope. Your story gives me confidence that the Governor's office route is worth trying. I'm also dealing with a standby situation where my employer said they'd bring me back but I haven't heard anything from ESD about approval. I'm definitely going to call both the Governor's office AND ask my HR department to call that employer line. It sounds like having your employer proactively call really helped speed things up. Thanks for sharing your experience and coming back to update us - it means a lot to those of us still waiting!
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