Weekly claims showing 'disqualified' after being let go - no explanation from ESD

There are several reasons why your weekly claims might be showing as disqualified. The most common ones are: 1. Your employer is contesting your unemployment claim (saying you quit or were fired for misconduct) 2. You have availability issues (something in your weekly claim indicates you weren't available for work) 3. You haven't completed or properly documented your job search activities 4. There's an identity verification issue that hasn't been flagged properly 5. You have unresolved issues from your previous 2017 claim And yes, if they determine you ARE eligible, those weeks should change from disqualified to paid, and you'll receive back payments. But that's assuming you've been doing everything correctly with your weekly claims and job search activities.

the EXACT same thing hapened to me last yr!! all my claims said disqualified for like 6 weeks and i never got ANY letters or emails explaining y. turned out they had me flagged for an ID verification but the system never sent me the notice to upload my docs!! so frustrating

This is classic ESD unfortunately. When you see all claims disqualified with no explanation, it usually means your ENTIRE CLAIM is under adjudication, not just individual weeks. The system automatically disqualifies weeks while they're reviewing your case, but they do a terrible job communicating this. In my experience working with folks going through this, medical clearance issues can trigger automatic adjudication because it falls into a gray area between quitting and being laid off. An adjudicator needs to review whether you're eligible based on the specific circumstances of why you couldn't get medical clearance. You need to speak with an actual ESD agent, not just check the portal. They can tell you what's going on and possibly expedite your claim if it's been stuck for over a month.

I was in a similar situation in January where all my weeks showed disqualified. After spending THREE WEEKS trying to get through to ESD (constant busy signals and disconnects), I found a service called Claimyr that got me through to an ESD agent in about 40 minutes. Totally worth it. The agent told me my claim had been flagged for medical availability review (I had a surgery) but the notice never showed up in my eServices account. Once I talked to someone, they were able to push my claim through to the right department and I got all my back pay about 10 days later. Check out their video to see how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 Their website is claimyr.com - they'll get you through to an actual ESD agent who can tell you exactly what's holding up your claim.

ESD IS THE WORST!!! I had EXACTLY the same problem and couldn't get any answers for TWO MONTHS!! Turns out my former employer told them I was fired for time card fraud (TOTAL LIE) but ESD never bothered to notify me about it or ask for my side of the story!!! By the time I found out what was happening, I'd missed the deadline to respond to the allegation I NEVER EVEN KNEW ABOUT!! Had to file an appeal and wait ANOTHER month for a hearing. DON'T TRUST THE ESERVICES PORTAL TO SHOW YOU EVERYTHING!!! The system is BROKEN!!! You HAVE TO talk to a human or you'll be stuck in limbo forever.

Something else to consider - if you're on unpaid leave specifically for medical reasons that prevented you from working at your regular job, you should make sure you're answering the weekly claim questions correctly. When it asks if you were "able and available" for work each day, you need to answer YES if you could have worked at SOME type of job, even if you couldn't perform your specific previous job due to medical restrictions. If you answered NO to the able and available question, that would automatically disqualify you for those weeks. Just mentioning this because it's a common misunderstanding that trips people up. You might need to explain to an adjudicator that while you couldn't perform your specific healthcare job due to medical clearance issues, you were still able and available to work other types of jobs during your claim period.

i had a problem last year with being disqualified and it was because i accidently put i was out of town on one of my weekly claims but i wasnt actually, just clicked wrong. check if u made any mistakes on ur weekly filings maybe?

When I had this happen last year, it turned out my employer had reported a different reason for separation than what I claimed. I said I was laid off due to lack of work, but they reported I quit. This sent my claim directly to adjudication, and all my weeks showed as disqualified while waiting for that process. You might want to double-check what your separation reason was on your initial application. If there's any discrepancy between what you reported and what your employer reported, this could explain the automatic disqualification while they sort it out. Medical clearance issues can be complicated because they could be interpreted different ways. And yes, once my adjudication was resolved in my favor, all those weeks switched from disqualified to paid and I got a lump sum payment about a week later.

did u call the esd number? sometimes u gotta call like 50 times but eventually u might get thru. i had to call at exactly 8:00am to get in the queue last time

Here's what you should do since you've been waiting over a month: 1. First, try to speak with an ESD agent to understand what's happening (use whatever method works - persistent calling, Claimyr, etc.) 2. If your claim is in adjudication, ask for an estimated timeline. If it's been more than 3 weeks already, politely ask if it can be expedited due to financial hardship. 3. Send a secure message through your eServices account specifically asking what's causing your disqualifications. This creates a paper trail of your inquiry. 4. Continue filing your weekly claims correctly, even while disqualified. This ensures you'll get back pay if approved. 5. If you can't get answers within another week, consider contacting your state representative. They can sometimes help move claims through the system. Most importantly, don't give up. The system is frustrating but persistent follow-up usually gets results eventually.

I went through something very similar about 6 months ago. My weekly claims were all showing disqualified for nearly 2 months with zero explanation anywhere in the system. It turned out there was a "fact-finding" questionnaire that was supposedly sent to me but never arrived - not in my eServices account, not in email, not in regular mail. The questionnaire was about my work availability during a period when I had mentioned a minor injury on one of my weekly claims. Even though I had marked myself as available for work, the system flagged it for review. But since I never received the questionnaire to respond to, my claim just sat in limbo with all weeks showing disqualified. Once I finally got through to an agent (took about 20 attempts over several days), they resent the questionnaire immediately and my claim was resolved within a week. I got all my back pay for those 8 weeks. The lesson here is that ESD's notification system is completely unreliable. You really do need to speak with a human to find out what's actually happening with your claim. Don't trust that you'll be notified if they need something from you - you won't be.

I'm dealing with this exact same situation right now! Filed in early March after a layoff and every single weekly claim shows "disqualified" with absolutely no explanation. Like you, I got the monetary determination right away but then complete radio silence from ESD. What's really frustrating is that I've been doing everything correctly - filing weekly, completing job searches, answering all questions honestly - but the system just keeps marking me as disqualified. I've checked everywhere for notices or pending issues and there's literally nothing. From reading all these responses, it sounds like this is unfortunately pretty common with ESD and the notification system is basically broken. I'm going to try some of the suggestions here about getting through to an actual agent, because clearly we can't rely on the online portal to tell us what's actually happening with our claims. Has anyone had success with calling first thing in the morning? I've been trying random times during the day and just get busy signals.

I'm going through something similar right now! Filed in late February after being laid off from my retail job and every weekly claim has shown "disqualified" for the past 5 weeks. Just like you, I got the monetary determination quickly but then nothing else. What's really concerning me after reading all these responses is that there could be some kind of issue or document they need from me, but I'd never know because their notification system seems to fail so often. I've been checking my eServices account religiously and there's absolutely nothing there - no pending issues, no messages, no questionnaires. I think I'm going to try the 8 AM calling strategy that a few people mentioned. It sounds like speaking to an actual human is the only way to find out what's really going on. This whole system is so broken - how are people supposed to pay their bills when they can't even find out why their claims are being denied? Thanks for posting about this - at least now I know I'm not alone and that there's hope for getting it resolved eventually!

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this! I'm actually going through something very similar right now - filed my claim in early March after being laid off and every single week shows "disqualified" with absolutely no explanation anywhere in the system. Reading through all these responses has been both reassuring and terrifying. Reassuring because it's clear this is a widespread problem with ESD's broken notification system, but terrifying because it sounds like there could be questionnaires, employer disputes, or other issues we'd never know about unless we manage to speak to an actual human. I've been trying to call for weeks but keep getting the busy signal. Based on what everyone's saying here, I'm going to try the 8 AM strategy tomorrow and keep calling until I get through. It's so frustrating that we have to jump through all these hoops just to find out basic information about our own claims! Please keep us updated if you manage to get through to someone. From what I'm reading, once people actually talk to an agent, these issues usually get resolved pretty quickly and the back pay comes through. We just have to survive this awful waiting period first.