The legal distinction here is important. Under Washington unemployment law, if you were terminated for "misconduct" you can be disqualified from benefits, even if the initial separation was a layoff. The key for your appeal will be proving either: 1) You didn't violate any known company policy by doing side work during layoff, OR 2) Even if there was a policy, your violation wasn't serious enough to constitute "misconduct" under unemployment law Misconduct has a specific legal definition for unemployment purposes that's often more narrow than what employers think. Simple poor judgment or minor policy violations often don't rise to the level of disqualifying misconduct.

I just checked all my paperwork and found something interesting. My layoff letter specifically says "temporary layoff due to seasonal work shortage" and mentions an expected recall date in April. It doesn't say anything about restrictions during the layoff period. Would this help my case? I'm definitely going to appeal now.

While contacting the governor's office (360-902-4111) or your state representative can sometimes help, be aware that they're receiving many similar requests. For faster resolution, make sure you've exhausted the normal ESD channels first: 1. Check if your adjudication issue requires any documents from you in your eServices portal 2. Try calling ESD at different times (early morning tends to be better) 3. Make sure you're continuing to file weekly claims while waiting 4. If you have a WorkSource appointment, don't miss it as this can further delay your claim When you do contact the governor's office, have your claim ID ready, be specific about how long you've been waiting, and explain any financial hardship you're experiencing. This information helps them prioritize cases.

I've been on adjudication for 9 weeks now and feeling your frustration! I don't think the governor's office helped me much but my state senator's office definitely did. The trick is to clearly explain the financial hardship - I was about to be evicted and mentioned that specifically. Their constituent services person got back to me within 48 hours and my claim was resolved the following week. Did you receive any notification about why you're in adjudication? Mine was because of a job I quit in 2023 even though I'd worked two jobs since then! The whole system is so broken.

Wait I'm confused about something. Does being in a union automatically exempt you from job searches even when NOT on standby? I thought union members still had to do job searches when not working unless they have standby status?

I just wanted to update that we went ahead and answered 'yes' to the job search question since he meets his requirements with his exemptions. The claim was accepted without any issues! Thanks everyone for your help. Going to stick with the online filing when possible since it's less confusing, but good to know how to handle the phone system if needed again.

Did you try checking your eligibility on the eServices portal? Sometimes it will tell you if you have enough quarters. Thats how I found out I could file a new claim after my seasonal retail job ended last year. I dint have to call at all just filed online

Just to follow up on this thread - the key terminology you need when calling is "new claim within the same benefit year after exhaustion of benefits." This is a specific situation addressed in ESD's regulations, but it requires agent intervention. Based on what you've shared about earning $28,000 in the fishing season this year, you should easily meet the 680-hour requirement and the minimum earnings threshold. When you connect with an agent, make sure to have: 1. Your employment dates for the fishing season 2. Approximate earnings amounts 3. Your employer's contact information 4. Your last day of work This will help speed up the process. And just to clarify for everyone, the online system isn't designed to handle this specific situation - it's not a glitch or an attempt to deny benefits, it's simply a limitation of the automated system that requires human intervention for these special cases.

I'm in the EXACT same boat right now!!! 6 weeks pending, Governor's office "escalation" 2 weeks ago, called by ESD last Thursday with promises to fix it "immediately" and STILL NOTHING!!! This system is BROKEN. My car payment bounced yesterday and now I'll have late fees on top of everything else. I'm filing a formal complaint with the state auditor's office because this is beyond unacceptable. We need to start making more noise about this systematic failure.

UPDATE: My claim that was pending for 5 weeks finally got resolved today! Here's what worked: I called my state representative's office (not the Governor) and explained the situation. Their constituent services person made a call directly to their ESD liaison (apparently each rep has one), and my claim was processed within 24 hours. Might be worth trying if the Governor's office route isn't working fast enough. Good luck!