Zero hours reported by employer blocking my UI claim - how to fix when ESD won't respond?

You need to file an appeal right away! Don't wait for them to respond to your secure message. When your claim is denied, you have only 30 days to appeal the decision. There should be appeal instructions in your determination letter. This is actually a common issue - employers sometimes mess up their quarterly reporting and it can cause exactly this problem with hours.

same thing happened to my roommate last yr. he had to fax his paystubs to some number and it took 5wks to fix. its so frustrating how they put all the burden on us when its the employers fault!!

I'm an HR specialist (not for ESD) but I deal with unemployment cases regularly. Here's what you need to do: 1. File an appeal immediately as mentioned above - this is CRITICAL to protect your rights 2. In your appeal, specifically state this is a "wage and hour dispute" where your employer reported earnings but zero hours 3. Submit all paystubs showing hours worked during your base year 4. Continue filing weekly claims even while your appeal is pending 5. Request a "wage investigation" specifically in your appeal ESD will contact your employer during the appeal process to verify the hours. If the employer doesn't respond (common), your paystubs will be considered primary evidence.

when i had issuse with my claim i used this service called Claimyr to get thru to ESD on the phone. they hold ur place in line so u dont have to keep calling. got to a real person in about 40 min instead of getting hung up on. their website is claimyr.com and theres a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 seriously saved my sanity after trying to call for 2 weeks straight

Hey just wondering did you check if your employer reported your hours to L&I correctly? Sometimes they report differently to different agencies which is STUPID but happens. You can make an SAW account and check your hours there too.

One more thing - when you file your appeal, you'll need to state whether you want a hearing or not. I STRONGLY recommend requesting a hearing with an Administrative Law Judge. This gets your case in front of someone who can actually make decisions. Prepare all your evidence ahead of time (paystubs, timesheets, anything showing your hours). The hearing will be scheduled several weeks out and can be done by phone.

The ESD system is COMPLETLEY BROKEN!!! I had almost the exact same issue in January. My employer reported my wages as 1099 instead of W-2 (which was wrong, I was an employee!) and it took ELEVEN WEEKS to get it fixed!!! The worst part is that no one at ESD would even admit there was a problem for the first 6 weeks!! I sent EIGHT secure messages before someone actually responded!!!

IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR 2025: ESD has a new "Data Correction Request" form specifically for wage and hour disputes that wasn't available last year. You can find it under "More Services" in your eServices account. This is IN ADDITION to filing an appeal, not instead of it. The form allows you to upload evidence like paystubs directly tied to the quarters in question. This might help resolve your issue faster than waiting for the appeal process.