Laid off with return date Aug 14 - restart claim or request standby?

You need to restart your claim and then request standby status. It's a two-step process. When you restart, it'll ask if you have a definite return-to-work date. Make sure you answer YES and provide the August 14 date. Then request standby separately. Your employer needs to verify this return date with ESD or you'll have to do job searches every week.

i been on standby before. u gotta do BOTH - restart claim AND request standby. boss has to confirm ur return date or u dont get approved for standby

When I called ESD, I was told standby is only approved for up to 8 weeks now (used to be longer during COVID). From Wednesday to August 14 is less than 8 weeks, so you should qualify IF your employer confirms. The biggest issue is whether your employer will actually submit the verification ESD needs. In my experience, they often forget or don't know how, and then you get denied standby.

I WENT THRU THIS EXACT SITUATION in January!!! Let me tell you what happened - I restarted my claim and requested standby, but my employer didn't verify in time so ESD denied my standby request. I had to start doing job searches even though I knew I was going back. MAKE SURE YOUR EMPLOYER VERIFIES YOUR RETURN DATE!!! Also, you still have to file weekly claims during the standby period - I missed one week and it was a nightmare to fix.

If you're having trouble getting through to ESD to confirm all this (which is likely), you might want to try Claimyr (claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation last month with a standby question and couldn't get through to anyone at ESD for days. Used their service and got connected to an ESD agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 that shows how it works. Saved me a ton of stress when I needed to confirm my standby status was actually processed correctly.

So when I worked seasonal jobs we had temporary layoffs all the time and the most important thing is having DOCUMENTATION. Get something in writing from your employer with the return date. Upload that to your ESD account when you request standby. Don't just take your boss's word for it because ESD won't.

wait i'm confused arent standby and restart claim the same thing??? i thought standby was just what they call it when you go back on unemployment temporarily

Just wanted to add - make sure you restart your claim this week! You only have until Saturday to backdate it to when you were laid off on Wednesday. If you miss that window, you'll lose this week's benefits.