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I had a similar reduction in hours situation in 2024 and also had my denial reversed by OAH. Just so you know what happened in my case: I got the full written decision about 5 days after seeing the 'reversed' status online. Then I had to wait about 18 days before the money actually showed up in my account. ESD's system takes time to implement the judge's decision. One weird thing - my eServices account showed 'adjudication in progress' again for about a week during this time, which freaked me out, but it was just part of their process of implementing the decision. Hang in there!
Quick follow-up: if you don't see any changes in your eServices portal within 2 weeks, you might need to contact ESD to ensure they're implementing the judge's decision. Sometimes there can be delays if they're backlogged. But in most cases, once OAH reverses a decision, ESD processes the claim within 10-14 business days. Just keep documenting all your job search activities while waiting!
I'm actually an employer but I've helped employees with this before. The rule is you need 680 hours in your new base year AND you must have returned to work and earned 6 times your weekly benefit amount since opening your previous claim. If you meet both requirements, you can file immediately without waiting for your benefit year to expire. If not, you'll need to wait until after November 9th.
Just wanted to mention that when you apply, make sure to have your employment info from your new job ready - especially your start and end dates and reason for separation. They'll verify this with your employer. Also, the first week is still a waiting week where you won't get paid - that never changed back after COVID.
My brother got in BIG trouble with L&I cause they saw facebook pics of him volunteering at a community garden while claiming he couldnt work!!! they made him pay back like $6000!!! be careful what u post online too!!!
One final piece of advice: when you do get hold of your claim manager, ask them to document the conversation in your file. Get their email address and follow up with a summary of what was discussed. L&I claims can sometimes change hands, and having that paper trail of you actively seeking guidance shows you're acting in good faith.
One important thing to note: Her former employer has 10 days to respond to her initial claim. If the employer contested the claim by saying she was let go due to performance issues, that would automatically trigger an adjudication process. In adjudication, both sides present their case about why the separation occurred. Since this happened right after her probation period ended, ESD might be investigating whether this was a performance-based termination (which could disqualify her) vs. a layoff due to employer needs (which would qualify her). The key is getting someone at ESD to confirm if the claim is in adjudication and what the specific issue is. Regular phone agents can see this information, but sometimes they don't volunteer it unless specifically asked.
Since your daughter is facing eviction, she should also immediately: 1. Apply for emergency rental assistance through her county's program 2. Contact 211 for other crisis resources 3. Let her landlord know she's applied for unemployment and is waiting for benefits Some landlords will work with tenants if they know there's potential income coming. She should get the eviction notice and her ESD claim information to her state representative again - be persistent and specific about the emergency nature of her situation.
Ethan Wilson
Wait i'm confused... if you're not looking for work right now why even worry about the appeal? You said you stopped filing claims because you're not job hunting anymore, so you wouldn't be eligible for benefits anyway at this point, right? Or are you hoping to get retroactive payments for those 8 weeks you claimed after quitting?
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Mateo Martinez
•It's for the retroactive payments for those 8 weeks. I was actively job hunting during that time, just not currently. Plus, I'm worried if I ignore the hearing notice it could cause problems if I need benefits in the future.
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QuantumQueen
One last thing to consider: if your appeal is successful and you get benefits for those 8 weeks, that could trigger an overpayment notice for any benefits you received after your contract job ended, if those were calculated on a new claim. ESD might determine you were double-dipping (using the same employment hours for two different benefit periods). This is why understanding if your contract job created a new benefit year is so important.
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Mateo Martinez
•Oh that's a good point I hadn't considered. I definitely don't want to end up with an overpayment situation. I'll see if I can figure out whether the contract job created a new benefit year before the hearing.
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