Stuck in ESD adjudication since December - no payments yet

Same boat!! My claim has been stuck for 5 weeks now. Its so ridiculous how they expect people to survive with NO income while they take forever to 'adjudicate' or whatever. Every time I call it just rings forever then hangs up on me. The whole system is designed to make us give up I swear.

I had the same issue last month. Adjudication usually happens when there's something that needs to be verified about your claim - could be your reason for separation, availability for work, or even something your former employer disputed. The problem is ESD is seriously backed up right now with the new quarter claims. Two things helped me: 1) I submitted a message through the eServices portal explicitly asking what was causing the adjudication and if any information was missing. 2) I made sure I was still doing my 3 job search activities every week and submitting them on time. Even though you're not getting paid yet, keep doing this or you might get disqualified once they do review your claim.

u need to call right when they open at 8am SHARP not 8:01 not 8:05 exactly at 8 and keep hitting redial for like 20min if u dont get thru. thats the only way i ever got a human on the phone

They did this to me too back in 2023, and I found out later it was because my employer tried claiming I quit (I didn't - was laid off). The adjudicator never called me to get my side of the story until I finally got ahold of someone who put a note in my file. Check if your employer might be fighting your claim.

I work with unemployment claims regularly, and adjudication delays are unfortunately common in 2025. The most important things to know: 1. Continue filing your weekly claims without fail 2. Respond to ANY communication from ESD immediately (check your spam folder daily) 3. Make sure your contact information is 100% current in the system 4. Document all your job search activities properly If your claim is approved after adjudication, you WILL receive back payments for all weeks properly claimed. The current adjudication timeline is averaging 5-8 weeks, but some cases are taking longer if they're complex or if ESD needs additional documentation. To actually reach someone, you need to call during less busy times - try Wednesday or Thursday afternoons between 2-4pm. The Monday morning rush is the worst possible time.

After struggling for weeks to get through to ESD about my adjudication issue, I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me skip the phone queue. It actually worked - got through to an ESD agent in about 15 minutes instead of endless busy signals. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 The agent was able to tell me exactly why my claim was in adjudication (turns out my employer didn't respond to ESD's request for information) and they escalated it while I was on the phone. Got my first payment a week later.

Make sure your ID verification is complete too!! They don't always tell you but sometimes claims get stuck in adjudication because they need more identity proof but the notification is buried in your eServices account. Check the "Alerts" and "Letters" sections carefully.

One more thing - in your initial post you mentioned you worked at the same company for 3 years. Make sure that's precisely what you listed on your application. Sometimes adjudication happens because of simple data mismatches between what you reported and what your employer reported. Even being off by a few months on your employment dates can trigger the system to flag the claim. Also, double-check that the wages you reported match what would be in your employer's records. Simple discrepancies can create lengthy delays.

Just an update on my situation - I FINALLY got through to ESD yesterday and they told me my claim was in adjudication because my former employer disputed that I was laid off!!! They claimed I was fired for performance which is a TOTAL LIE. Now I have to wait for an interview with an adjudicator which could take another 3 weeks they said. This system is such a joke.

Quick update based on recent information: ESD is currently working through a backlog of claims from December and January. Many claims from December 8-15 should be processed within the next two weeks according to their latest internal timeline. Keep filing those weekly claims and make sure to check your correspondence inbox in eServices daily.