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For what it's worth, I think Washington's unemployment benefits are pretty decent compared to other states. The maximum is almost $1000 a week which is way higher than a lot of places.
For what it's worth, when I had this situation I found the Washington ESD website pretty helpful. They have a section about how different types of payments affect benefits. Might be worth checking out before you file.
Bottom line - yes you can collect unemployment with severance in most cases. Report it accurately, file right away, and don't stress too much about it. The system is designed to handle these common situations.
Something else to think about - even if your quit doesn't qualify as good cause, you might still be eligible for benefits later if you work at another job for a while. Washington ESD looks at your most recent separation from work.
The bottom line is that substantial hours reduction CAN be good cause for quitting in Washington. You have pay stubs showing the reduction and you tried to work with your employer. That's a reasonable foundation for a claim. File it and see what happens.
The hardest part about unemployment isn't the filing process, it's actually getting through to someone at Washington ESD when you have questions. I probably spent 40+ hours on hold before finding claimyr. Now I can actually get answers when I need them.
How much does that claimyr thing cost? Seems like we shouldn't have to pay extra just to talk to a government agency.
UPDATE: Just wanted to thank everyone for the advice. Filed my regular UI claim yesterday and it was much easier than I expected. Now just waiting for the determination letter to see if I'm approved.
Freya Larsen
Also remember that Washington ESD unemployment benefits max out at 26 weeks in a benefit year, so you can't collect indefinitely. The income replacement percentage matters less if you're planning to be unemployed for a long time - you need to find work within that timeframe.
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NightOwl42
•Right, the time limit is another important factor. Thanks for the reminder.
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Omar Hassan
Just wanted to add that if you're confused about your benefit calculation, you can always call Washington ESD and ask them to explain it. Though getting through can be challenging, services like Claimyr help with that. The agents can walk you through exactly how they calculated your weekly benefit amount.
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NightOwl42
•I think I'll definitely try to talk to someone directly to understand my specific situation. Thanks for all the helpful information everyone!
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