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If you do end up needing to contact Washington ESD during the process and can't get through on the phone, I had good luck with Claimyr recently. They helped me reach an adjudicator when my quit claim was stuck in review. Way better than spending hours on hold or getting disconnected.
Good luck with whatever you decide. Just remember that unemployment benefits are temporary - try to line up your next job as quickly as possible even if you do qualify. The job market is still pretty competitive right now.
For job search requirements, you need 3 job search activities per week in Washington. Make sure you're logging these in WorkSourceWA because they do audit them randomly.
The 'unemployment' status is basically Washington ESD's way of saying your claim exists and is active. Once you get past the waiting week and any verification steps, you should see payment activity in your account.
I lost my initial appeal but won at the Board of Appeals level. Don't give up if the first hearing doesn't go your way - you have options.
For anyone reading this later - the key things are: 1) File your appeal within 30 days, 2) Keep filing weekly claims, 3) Organize your documentation, 4) Be patient with the timeline.
Adding to this - if you can't get through to check status, services like Claimyr can help you actually reach someone at Washington ESD.
Just wanted to add that Claimyr really does work for getting through to Washington ESD. I was skeptical at first but it saved me weeks of frustration. As for the 1930s, I think a lot of it was just bad timing - everything that could go wrong did go wrong at once.
Great discussion! It really puts our current Washington ESD problems in perspective. Yes the system is slow and frustrating, but at least we have something. People in the 1930s faced unemployment with zero safety net. That's terrifying.
Javier Mendoza
One thing to watch out for - make sure you apply for DUA within the deadline. I think it's 30 days from when the disaster assistance period begins, but double-check that. Missing the deadline could disqualify you entirely.
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CosmicCommander
•Good point. I applied pretty quickly after the disaster declaration but I didn't realize there was a strict deadline. That could trip people up.
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Javier Mendoza
•Yeah, the deadlines for disaster programs are usually pretty firm. Unlike regular UI where you have some flexibility, disaster benefits have to be claimed within specific timeframes.
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Emma Wilson
Just wanted to add that if you're self-employed or a contractor, DUA might be your only option since you probably don't qualify for regular UI. The benefit calculation works differently for self-employed folks though - they use your tax returns to figure out your weekly amount.
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Malik Davis
•This is important info. A lot of gig workers and contractors don't realize they might qualify for disaster unemployment when they wouldn't normally get regular unemployment benefits.
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Emma Wilson
•Exactly. It's one of the few times self-employed people can get unemployment-type benefits, but you have to prove your work loss was directly caused by the disaster.
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