Still pending after 5 weeks - when to contact governor's office about ESD claim?
I submitted my unemployment claim at the end of March and we're now in the second week of May, but my status is still showing as 'pending' with no movement. It's been about 5 weeks now and I'm getting desperate. Bills are piling up and I've tried calling ESD multiple times but can't get through - just endless busy signals or the automated system hangs up on me. I've sent messages through eServices portal twice with no response. At what point should I contact the governor's office for help? Has anyone had success going that route? I'm seriously running out of options here and don't know what else to do. Any advice would be appreciated!
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Nia Watson
Don't wait any longer - contact your state representative NOW. The governor's office is actually not the best first step. Your state representative's office has staff dedicated to helping constituents with ESD issues. My claim was stuck for 6 weeks last year, and 3 days after contacting my rep's office, someone from ESD called me directly. Go to leg.wa.gov to find your representatives based on your address. Email works better than calling in my experience.
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Micah Trail
•Thank you! I had no idea about contacting my state rep instead. I'll look them up right now. Did you have to provide any specific info in your email to them?
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Alberto Souchard
I was in the same boat last month!! So frustrating!! I tried calling ESD like 27 times and either got busy signals or it would hang up after the automated message thing. My claim sat there for 4 weeks doing nothing and I have 3 kids to feed!
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Micah Trail
•Did you ever get through to them? What finally worked for you?
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Katherine Shultz
Before contacting the governor's office, there's an escalation process you should follow: 1. Continue attempting to reach ESD directly (frustrating, I know) 2. Contact your state representative as mentioned above 3. File an official complaint with the Employment Security Department's Commissioner's Office 4. THEN contact the governor's office as a last resort When you do reach out to your representative, include your full name, contact information, claim ID number, and a brief timeline of your claim and contact attempts. This will speed up their ability to help you.
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Micah Trail
•This is really helpful! I didn't know there was a specific escalation process. I'll start with my state rep today and then move up the chain if needed. Thank you!
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Marcus Marsh
i had 2 contact the govs office last yr when ESD froze my claim for 'identity verification' that never got processed. took 9 weeks but they did help. make sure you include all ur claim #s and contact info when u email them
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Micah Trail
•9 weeks! That's so long to wait. Did you also try your state rep first or did you go straight to the governor's office?
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Hailey O'Leary
The whole system is BROKEN BY DESIGN! They WANT you to give up. I waited 7 weeks last year, called 50+ times, sent countless messages, and guess what happened? NOTHING until I contacted my state rep AND the governor's office on the same day. Suddenly my claim was processed within 48 hours. They don't care about us until someone important makes them care!!!!!
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Katherine Shultz
•While I understand your frustration, the system isn't actually designed to make people give up. The ESD is genuinely understaffed and dealing with antiquated computer systems. That said, contacting representatives is effective because they have dedicated channels to escalate legitimate claims that are stuck, not because they're forcing ESD to suddenly care.
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Cedric Chung
Have you tried using Claimyr? That's how I finally got through to an actual human at ESD after weeks of trying. They'll call ESD for you and when they get through, they connect you. Saved me tons of time and frustration. Their site is claimyr.com and they have a video that explains how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. I was skeptical at first but it actually worked for me when nothing else did.
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Micah Trail
•I've never heard of this service before. I'm desperate enough to try anything at this point. Did you have to wait long after they connected you?
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Cedric Chung
•Once they connected me, I still had to wait in the queue but at least I was actually IN the queue instead of getting busy signals or disconnects. Took about 20 minutes of holding after connection, but the ESD agent was able to resolve my issue during that one call.
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Talia Klein
One thing to check - did you miss any notifications in your ESD account? Sometimes they need additional documentation but the email notifications go to spam. Log in and check your account dashboard and alerts section carefully. I discovered my claim was pending because they needed proof of identity and I had no idea!
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Micah Trail
•I've been checking my account daily and there's nothing in the alerts section. No requests for additional documentation or anything like that. It just says 'pending' with no explanation. I also check my spam folder regularly just in case.
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Alberto Souchard
my neighbors cousins boyfriend works for esd and he says they've been super backlogged since they updated their computer system in march so lots of claims from then are still waiting to be processed manually
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Nia Watson
•This is actually true - they did implement system updates in March that caused processing delays, but 5+ weeks is still excessive. That's why reaching out to representatives is important - they can help identify if your claim is legitimately stuck in a technical issue or just buried in the backlog.
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Micah Trail
Update: I contacted my state rep this morning with all my claim info and received an email response within hours saying they've reached out to their ESD liaison! They said to expect contact within 5-7 business days. Also tried the Claimyr service mentioned below and actually got through to an ESD agent who confirmed my claim needs manual review due to my previous employer contesting it (something I wasn't told before). Thanks everyone for your advice - feeling more hopeful now!
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Katherine Shultz
•Great news! The fact that your employer contested the claim explains the delay. Those always require adjudication, which is taking longer than usual right now. Keep documenting all communications and follow up with your state rep if you don't hear anything within their timeframe. Glad you're making progress!
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Cedric Chung
•That's awesome! Glad you were able to get some answers finally. The not knowing is sometimes the worst part.
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