I remeber going thru this last year... my husband too. we were both like where is the $$$ lol. Yeah the waiting week is your first weekly claim not when you apply for benefits initially. so yah you gotta wait longer thgan expected which is just GREAT when your already broke and needing money right??

I went through this exact same confusion when I filed in December! The waiting week thing is really poorly explained on their website. What helped me understand it was thinking of it this way: your initial application just establishes your claim and determines your weekly benefit amount. The waiting week is specifically the first week you're actively claiming benefits (filing your weekly claim). So you're absolutely right - you'll get your first payment after filing your second weekly claim, not after the first one. It's frustrating because you're already dealing with job loss and then have to wait an extra week for money, but unfortunately that's just how Washington's system works. Hang in there!

One last thing - if your employer contests your claim (which sometimes happens with layoffs), be prepared to provide documentation about your job separation. Keep any layoff notices or emails about the reduction in force.

Just went through this process myself a few months ago. File your claim the Sunday after your last day of work - that's what I did and it worked perfectly. Don't overthink the timing, just make sure you're actually unemployed when you submit. The online system walks you through everything step by step, and you can always go back and edit information if you make a mistake. One tip: create your SecureAccess Washington account ahead of time if you don't have one, because that can take a day or two to get activated. Good luck with everything!

I'm dealing with the exact same situation - filed 6 weeks ago and still haven't received a single payment despite my claim showing "active" and all my weekly certifications showing "processed." I've been doing everything by the book - 3 job searches per week logged in WorkSourceWA, filing every week on time, following all the requirements. But Washington ESD gives absolutely zero information about what's causing the delay. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been both eye-opening and infuriating - I had no idea about all these hidden holds like identity verification issues, employer disputes, or system glitches that they apparently just don't tell us about. The lack of communication is the worst part - they just leave us hanging while bills pile up and we're left guessing what's wrong. Based on all the Claimyr success stories throughout this thread, I'm definitely going to try that service tomorrow. It's absolutely ridiculous that we have to pay a third party just to reach our own state agency, but I'm at the point where I'd rather spend some money to get my payments flowing than keep waiting indefinitely while my rent and utilities go unpaid. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - at least now I know I'm not alone in this nightmare and there are actual solutions that work!

I'm in week 9 of waiting and this thread has been a lifesaver - finally understanding that these delays are usually caused by hidden backend issues that Washington ESD just doesn't communicate to us. Like everyone else here, my claim shows "active" but weekly certifications are stuck at "processed" forever with no payment dates. I've been perfect with all requirements - job searches, weekly filing, everything. The complete silence from ESD about what's actually wrong is maddening when you're watching bills pile up. I tried Claimyr yesterday after reading all the success stories here and got connected to an agent in about 30 minutes! Turns out my employer had reported conflicting information about my separation date and it was stuck in review. The agent fixed it immediately and said my back payments should process within 3-5 business days. For anyone still waiting - don't keep suffering in silence. Yes it costs money to use Claimyr but it's way cheaper than losing your housing while waiting months for ESD to maybe fix things on their own. This system is completely broken but at least now we have workarounds that actually get results!

Thanks everyone for all the helpful advice. I'm going to try calling Washington ESD first thing Monday morning to set up withholding, and if that doesn't work I'll check out that Claimyr service. In the meantime I'll start setting aside 20% of my remaining payments.

I'm in the exact same situation and this thread has been incredibly helpful! I've been collecting benefits for about 4 months and completely forgot about the tax implications. Reading about everyone's experiences with owing thousands of dollars is definitely a wake-up call. I'm going to start calling Washington ESD tomorrow morning at 8 AM sharp to set up withholding, and if I can't get through after a few days I'll definitely look into that Claimyr service that Maya mentioned. In the meantime, I'm going to immediately start putting aside 20% of each payment into a separate savings account so I don't accidentally spend it. Thanks for sharing your stories - sometimes it takes hearing other people's mistakes to realize you're about to make the same one!

This is such valuable information! I've been doing seasonal work (landscaping in summer, snow removal in winter) for about 4 years now and had no idea I could collect unemployment during the transition periods between contracts. My employers always made it sound like seasonal workers weren't eligible, but reading through all these experiences gives me confidence to file when my current contract ends next month. The claimyr service mentioned here sounds like it could be really helpful too since I'll probably have questions about my specific situation. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this thread is going to help a lot of seasonal workers who didn't know their rights!

I've been working seasonal jobs at a Christmas tree farm and summer farmers markets for the past two years, and I can confirm that Washington ESD absolutely allows seasonal workers to collect unemployment benefits! The key thing that helped me was keeping detailed records of my employment dates and wages. When I first filed, I was worried they'd deny me because the work is predictably seasonal, but the ESD representative I spoke to (through claimyr.com actually - saved me hours of phone calls) explained that seasonal unemployment is different from voluntary unemployment. As long as you're laid off due to lack of work and not because you chose to quit, you're eligible. My advice is to file immediately when your season ends, be completely honest about your work pattern, and don't let employers discourage you from applying. You pay into the unemployment system through your wages, so you've earned the right to use it during your off-season periods. The peace of mind during those gap months is worth the effort of filing and maintaining your weekly claims.