Union apprentice claim - need to file weekly to keep claim open for future class weeks?
My husband is in a plumbing union apprenticeship program and faces a situation with his ESD claim. Every quarter he has to attend a mandatory 5-day training class where he doesn't receive regular wages. His union rep advised everyone to file for unemployment during these training weeks. He filed his first claim last quarter during his February class, but it ended up being his waiting week, so he didn't receive any benefits. Now he has another class coming up in April (3 weeks from now). My question is: Does he need to keep filing weekly claims between now and April to keep his claim active, even though he's working full-time and wouldn't qualify for benefits? I'm thinking yes - this would keep his claim open and he wouldn't have another waiting week when he's off for his April class. Aren't unemployment claims valid for a year once opened? Just want to make sure we're handling this correctly for these periodic training weeks.
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Caleb Bell
Yes, to keep the claim active, he should be filing weekly claims even during weeks he's working. The claim will stay open for a year from the initial filing date, but it can go inactive if you stop filing weekly claims. If the claim goes inactive, he might need to reopen it and possibly serve another waiting week. Make sure he reports all work and earnings accurately on the weekly claims. For weeks he's working full-time, he'll report his hours and earnings, and would be denied benefits for those weeks (which is expected). This maintains the active status without any impropriety.
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
•Thank you for confirming! That's what I thought but wasn't 100% sure. I'll make sure he files every week and reports all his work hours/earnings. I definitely don't want him to have to serve another waiting week when his next class comes up.
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Danielle Campbell
How does your husband's union handle this? I'm in a carpenter's apprenticeship and our training coordinator told us we didn't have to file every week, just reactivate during school weeks. Now I'm worried I've been doing it wrong...
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Caleb Bell
•Different unions sometimes have different arrangements with ESD. If your training coordinator gave you specific instructions, you might want to verify with them. It's possible your program has a special arrangement that differs from standard ESD procedures. Generally though, continuous filing is the safest approach to avoid serving another waiting week.
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Rhett Bowman
i was in a similar situation with my electrical apprenticship. stopped filing weekly after i went back to work and when i had another class 3 months later i had to serve ANOTHER waiting week!! total bs. definitely keep filing even when hes working
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
•Oh no! That's exactly what I was worried about. Thanks for sharing your experience - definitely going to make sure he keeps filing every week now.
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Abigail Patel
One important thing to note: make absolutely sure he reports ALL earnings during the weeks he's working. If he files weekly claims while working but doesn't report earnings accurately, it could trigger an overpayment situation or even fraud investigation. The system will likely deny benefits for those working weeks (as it should), but the claim stays active which is what you want.
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
•Definitely! We're very careful about reporting everything properly. He'll report all hours and earnings, knowing he won't get benefits for those weeks. We just want to keep the claim active for the training weeks.
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Daniel White
Have you tried calling ESD directly to confirm? Their rules can be so confusing and sometimes the website info doesn't cover specific situations like apprenticeships.
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
•I tried calling twice last week but couldn't get through - just automated messages saying high call volume and to try later. I'll try again this week, but thought I'd check here while waiting to get through.
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Nolan Carter
•If you're struggling to reach ESD, you might want to try Claimyr. It helped me get through to an actual agent when I was stuck in adjudication for weeks. Their system holds your place in line so you don't have to keep redialing. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 that shows how it works. I was skeptical at first but it saved me hours of frustration and got me connected with an agent who could actually explain my specific situation.
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Natalia Stone
Im in IBEW and we have simlar situation. Our business agent told everyone to keep filing every week even if were working FULL TIME just to keep claim active for our class weeks. Been doing this for 2 years and never had issues. Just report ur full hours/pay and youll get denied but thats fine cuz claim stays open.
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
•That's really helpful to hear someone's been doing this successfully long-term. Thanks for sharing your experience!
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Abigail Patel
Another approach could be to call ESD and ask about a "standby" status for your husband's situation. Sometimes with seasonal or periodic work interruptions, standby status can be more appropriate than regular unemployment. However, I'm not sure if apprenticeship training weeks qualify under the standby rules - that's something an ESD agent would need to confirm.
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Rhett Bowman
•standby is SUPER hard to get approved now - they changed all the rules after covid and i tried to get it for a 3-week job shutdown and got denied. they said standby is only for like 4 weeks max now and has all these other requirements
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Danielle Campbell
I'm confused - if he's in class during that week, isn't that considered "available for work"? I thought you had to be able and available to get unemployment? Or is there a special rule for apprenticeship classes?
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Caleb Bell
•Great question. For approved training programs (which many union apprenticeships are), ESD often waives the "available for work" requirement during required training periods. The Commissioner Approved Training (CAT) program specifically allows for this. This is why it's important for the OP's husband to clearly indicate these are required apprenticeship classes when filing.
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