The REAL question is why does ESD still have a phone system from the stone age when everything else in the world has moved online?? They've had YEARS to fix this!! And don't even get me started on their "new and improved" website that's down for maintenance every other weekend. I swear they do this on purpose to make people give up on claiming benefits.

is there a time limit on filing weekly claims? i missed last week and wondering if i can still file or if im out of luck

One more important note: When filing your appeal, specifically request what's called a "de novo review" of your entire claim. This means the judge will look at your case from scratch, not just the availability issue. Since you already have a favorable ruling on the voluntary quit issue, this could be advantageous. Also, contact the Administrative Hearings Coordinator and request that your previous favorable decision be included in the record for your new appeal. This creates a stronger paper trail showing that part of your eligibility has already been established.

To answer your earlier question - yes, absolutely continue filing your weekly claims while appealing. If you win your appeal, they can only pay you for weeks you properly filed claims. And file your appeal online through eServices so you have immediate confirmation it was received. The clock is ticking on that 30-day deadline!

Quick update from my earlier comment - I should mention that if you selected the ESD debit card option instead of direct deposit, it typically takes 7-10 business days to receive your card in the mail for first-time payments. The funds will be available as soon as you activate the card though.

did ur money come thru yet??

Quick update - after seeing a recommendation here, I tried Claimyr today for my adjudication issue with ESD and got through in about 15 mins when I'd been trying for days on my own. Just sharing in case others are struggling with the phone system too. There's a demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 that shows how it works.

UPDATE: I finally got through to ESD this morning after trying for 2 hours! The agent was actually super helpful once I got through. She backdated my claims for 11/4 and 11/11 right away, and said I should see the payments in my account by Wednesday. She also explained that the system doesn't allow online backdating until you've established a "regular filing pattern" - whatever that means. For anyone else with this issue - definitely call, have your job search activities ready (they DO need all 3 for each week), and be prepared to wait on hold. Thanks everyone for your help!

Let me clarify this situation as someone who works with these systems regularly. The PDF job search log form from ESD was created before they fully transitioned from using SSNs to claimant IDs as primary identifiers. That's why you're encountering this discrepancy. Here's what you should do: 1. Print your completed job search log with your SSN filled in the appropriate field 2. Write your claimant ID at the top of each page 3. Bring a copy of your ESD dashboard or any ESD correspondence showing your claimant ID to verify it matches what you've written WorkSource staff are well aware of this issue and will not disqualify your job search activities because of this technical limitation. The most important aspect is accurately documenting your qualifying job search activities for each week (minimum 3 per week).

UPDATE: Just got back from my WorkSource appointment and wanted to share what happened for anyone with the same question in the future. The WorkSource specialist said it was completely fine to have my SSN on the form instead of claimant ID! She said they see this all the time and it's not an issue. I had handwritten my claimant ID at the top of each page just to be safe (based on advice here), and she said that was perfect. So don't stress about this issue like I did! They're totally used to it.