Will closing my ESD claim affect my pending appeal for denied payments due to illness?

congrats on the new job! i had a similar situation last yr and closed my claim after getting work. but i didnt have a pending appeal so not sure if thats different. proly smart to check with esd before you do anything. but why bother with the hassle if you already got a job?

DO NOT close your claim if you have a pending appeal. Your appeal is connected to your active claim, and closing it could complicate things. I've seen this happen to others - closing the claim can sometimes be interpreted as withdrawing your interest in the case. The ESD adjudication system treats your claim as a single continuous case file. When you have an appeal pending with the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), it references your active ESD claim number. While technically the appeal process is separate, keeping the claim open ensures all your documentation stays connected in their system. You can still have an open claim while working full-time - you'll just report your full earnings each week and receive $0 in benefits. This keeps your claim "active" for administrative purposes without actually collecting money.

I think you're dealing with two separate issues here: 1) The appeal for the denied payments during your pneumonia (which is about your ability to work while sick) 2) The gig work classification issue (them considering you full-time when you weren't) Both are super frustrating!!! I went through something kinda similar when ESD incorrectly classified me as having quit a job when I was actually laid off. The appeal process took FOREVER and dealing with ESD feels like screaming into the void sometimes. Have you received any communication from OAH about your appeal yet? They should have sent you something with a case number that's separate from your ESD claim number.

I worked as an unemployment adjudicator for several years, and I can confirm that you should NOT close your claim while you have a pending appeal. Here's why: 1. When you close a claim, it triggers certain automated processes in the system 2. While the appeal itself is handled by OAH (Office of Administrative Hearings), there's still communication between OAH and ESD about your claim status 3. If your claim is closed, it can create confusion about whether you still want to pursue the appeal 4. More importantly, if you win your appeal, ESD needs an active claim to process your back payments The best approach is to keep filing your weekly claims (reporting your full income from your new job), which will result in $0 payments but maintains your claim in active status. This is standard procedure for claimants who find work but have pending issues to resolve. Regarding the "able and available" denial while you had pneumonia, you might actually have a good case for appeal. There are provisions for temporary illness situations, especially if you can provide medical documentation.

Yes, that's exactly right. Continue filing weekly claims and report your full income. You won't get in trouble - this is a normal part of the process. The system will automatically calculate $0 in benefits due to your reported earnings, but your claim remains active for administrative purposes. This is actually quite common for people in your situation. The key thing is maintaining your claim's active status until all pending issues are resolved. Once your appeal is complete (regardless of outcome), then you can consider closing your claim.

Has anyone else noticed that ESD seems to automatically flag gig workers for extra scrutiny? They did the same thing to me with Uber - kept insisting I was working full-time hours when I was just doing it on weekends. Took MONTHS to sort out and I never got a clear explanation of how they calculate hours for gig work. The whole system seems designed to be confusing on purpose!

Getting through to ESD to ask this kind of question is practically impossible these days. I spent THREE DAYS trying to reach someone about a similar issue last month. Their phone lines are constantly busy, and when I finally got through, I was on hold for over 2 hours before being disconnected! I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an ESD representative. They have this service that basically waits on hold for you and calls you back when an agent is available. Saved me so much frustration! They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 This is definitely a question where you want an official answer from ESD rather than risking your appeal over advice from the internet (no offense to anyone here).

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice! I'm going to keep my claim open and continue filing weekly claims until the appeal process is complete. I'll make sure to accurately report my new employment and income. I appreciate all the insights - this has been stressing me out for weeks!