Weekly claim suddenly disqualified - temp agency work issues - appeal filed
I'm in absolute panic mode right now. My husband's weekly unemployment claim that was showing 'processing' yesterday suddenly switched to 'disqualified' this morning with zero explanation! We have two kids under 5 and this is our primary income now. He's been picking up sporadic work through Adams & Sons Construction (temp agency) but only getting maybe 2-3 days of work every 3 weeks, which we've diligently reported on each weekly claim. When filing, we keep having to select 'voluntary leave of absence' since there's no option for 'temp agency not providing consistent work' - could this be causing the problem? On top of this mess, ESD just sent us a new monetary determination REDUCING his weekly benefit amount by $87! I filed an appeal through eServices this morning, but have no idea how long this takes or if he's permanently disqualified or just for this week. Does anyone know if we can still file next week while the appeal is pending? We've got rent due in 10 days and I'm seriously on the verge of a breakdown.
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Mary Bates
That 'voluntary leave of absence' selection is likely causing your problem. When you select that, ESD interprets it as your husband choosing not to work, which would make him ineligible. Instead, you should be selecting something like 'lack of work' or 'still attached to employer but no hours available.' The temp agency is still considered his employer even when they're not giving him assignments. As for the appeal, you should continue filing weekly claims while it's pending - if you win the appeal, they'll pay those weeks retroactively if you've filed them properly.
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Oliver Brown
•Thank you for explaining this! The problem is I don't see a 'lack of work' option when filing the weekly claim. The choices are so confusing. Is there a specific wording I should look for? And do you know roughly how long appeals take? We're desperately trying to figure out if we need to borrow money for rent.
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Clay blendedgen
omg i had the EXACT same issue with a temp agency last year!!! its so frustrating how the system doesn't understand how temp work actually works. For me, I had to call and talk to someone at ESD directly to explain the situation and they fixed it on their end. took like 5 hours of calling tho :/
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Ayla Kumar
•The ESD system is DELIBERATELY designed to make us fail!!! Those options are INTENTIONALLY confusing so they can deny claims and save money. This happens to THOUSANDS of temp workers every year. I've been fighting with them for 14 weeks over the same issue. Even their own reps don't understand how to code temp agency work properly. It's infuriating!!!
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Lorenzo McCormick
You need 2 get on the phone with an actual ESD agent asap. Thats the only way 2 fix this kind of issue. They can change how they code the temp agency situation in there system. When i had a similar issue it took me 11 days of calling just to get through but then they fixed it right away and even back paid me. dont just rely on the appeal its to slow
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Carmella Popescu
•I've been trying to get someone on the phone at ESD for 3 days with no luck. I was getting so frustrated with the constant busy signals and disconnects that I tried this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) yesterday. It actually worked - they got me through to an ESD agent within about 45 minutes. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. Might be worth trying since your situation sounds urgent with the disqualification and reduced benefit amount. The agent I spoke with was able to fix my adjudication issue on the spot.
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Oliver Brown
Update: Tried calling ESD 23 times today and couldn't get through once. Just kept getting the 'high call volume' message and disconnects. I'm going to try that Claimyr service tomorrow morning. I went through our determination letter more carefully and it looks like they're not counting some of my husband's higher-paying weeks from his previous full-time job before the temp agency work. Could this be why the weekly benefit amount dropped? Should I mention both issues (the disqualification AND the reduced benefit amount) when I finally get through to someone?
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Kai Santiago
•Yes, definitely discuss both issues when you reach an agent. Here's what's likely happening: 1) For the disqualification: The system flags "voluntary leave of absence" as a voluntary quit, which triggers automatic disqualification. An agent needs to manually override this with the correct code for lack of work from a temp agency. 2) For the benefit amount: ESD uses your base year (first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters) to calculate benefits. If the new determination has a different base year period that excludes higher-earning quarters, this would reduce your WBA. Ask specifically about your "base year" and which quarters they're including in the calculation. Keep filing weekly claims during this process, and be very specific that your husband is "able and available for work" but the temp agency isn't offering assignments. Appeals typically take 8-12 weeks, so getting this fixed by phone is definitely the faster route.
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Lim Wong
my cousin works at a temp place and he just puts "no work available" when he files his weekly claim. maybe try that next time??
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Lorenzo McCormick
•That option didn't used to show up for temp workers depending on how the employer registers with ESD. But they mightve updated the system recently, worth checking all the dropdown options carefully next time
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Oliver Brown
FINAL UPDATE: I used Claimyr this morning and got through to ESD in about 30 minutes! The agent was really helpful and found TWO problems: 1) The temp agency had reported my husband as having "quit" when he actually just wasn't given any more assignments. The agent corrected this and removed the disqualification. 2) They had miscalculated his base year by using 2025 Q1-Q4 instead of including the higher-paying Q4 2024. They're fixing this too and said his weekly benefit should go back up. The agent said both issues should be resolved within 72 hours and any missed payments will be back-paid. Such a relief! For anyone dealing with temp agency work, make sure you select "lack of work/no work available" not "voluntary leave" when filing weekly claims. And THANK YOU everyone for your help - this forum literally saved us from disaster.
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Mary Bates
•That's excellent news! So glad you got it resolved quickly. This is a really common problem with temp agencies and ESD. For future reference, temp agencies often incorrectly report employment endings because it affects their unemployment insurance tax rates. Always contest any claim where they report you voluntarily quit when they simply stopped offering assignments. And yes, definitely continue using "lack of work" or "no work available" for any week they don't offer assignments.
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