When does ESD pay for waiting week and initial filing week?

The waiting week is the first week you file a claim and you typically don't get paid for that week. It's essentially a one-week deductible. So if you filed your initial claim on Saturday, that whole week becomes your waiting week. You'll get paid starting with your second weekly claim, assuming you meet all eligibility requirements. Also make sure to file your weekly claims on time every week, even for the waiting week, or you could lose benefits.

wait i think the person above is mostly right but I filed back in January and I got confused about waiting week too. if u got laid off thursday and filed sat, the waiting week actually starts on Sunday (next day after u filed) becuz esd weeks run sunday-saturday. so u shouldn't expect payment for next week, but the week after that u should get paid if u keep filing ur weekly claims

To clarify the correct information: Your waiting week is the first week you file a claim AND are eligible for benefits. Since you worked part of that week (until Thursday), you'll need to report those earnings when you file your weekly claim. Depending on how much you earned, you might be partially eligible or ineligible for that week. Either way, it still counts as your waiting week as long as you file the claim and meet other eligibility criteria. You won't receive payment for the waiting week (unless there's a special emergency proclamation in effect, which there isn't currently). You'll begin receiving benefits for the second week, assuming you're eligible and file your claim on time. One important note: Even though you don't get paid for the waiting week, you MUST file a weekly claim for it, or you could lose benefits entirely.

I went through the same thing back in November and was so confused!!! The ESD website is honestly terrible at explaining this stuff clearly. I ended up calling them like 35 times before I got through. When I finally did, they explained that I wouldn't get paid for the waiting week but would for all eligible weeks after that. BUT they also told me that if I got a new job within 4 weeks and stopped claiming, I'd lose the waiting week forever - if I had to claim again later this year I'd have to do another waiting week. Not sure if that's still true but thought I'd mention it.

if u need to get to a real person at ESD i finally had success with this service called Claimyr after trying for days to get through. u can see how it works at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 - they got me connected to an ESD agent in like 25 mins when i couldn't get thru at all by myself. their website is claimyr.com if ur interested. the agent was able to explain exactly when my payments would start and why my waiting week wasn't paid.

Im pretty sure the governer eliminated the waiting week back during covid. did they bring it back?? i got laid off in 2022 and didnt have a waiting week

Just to add some clarification - the waiting week can be confusing because it's not actually the week you *wait* to file, it's the first week you actually file! So in your case: - Week you got laid off = waiting week (if you filed a claim for it) - Second week = first payable week (assuming you're eligible) And remember that partial earnings during your waiting week can reduce your benefit amount for that week, but since it's unpaid anyway, it doesn't really matter financially. Just make sure you accurately report those earnings to avoid overpayment issues later!