my sister went thru this with TCC nursing program last quarter and said dealing with esd was WAY harder than nursing school lol. make sure u check ur eservices messages like everyday because sometimes they send important notices there instead of mail and if u miss them ur in BIG trouble. happened to her and she almost lost benefits

One important thing no one mentioned - when you're in approved training, your job search requirements change but don't disappear completely. Instead of regular job searches, you'll need to submit academic progress reports. TCC should provide these at mid-term and end of quarter. Missing these is the #1 reason people in training programs suddenly find their benefits suspended.

my cousin works at esd (not supposed to tell anyone that lol) but she says theyre SUPER backlogged right now cuz of budget cuts and staff shortages. claims that used to take 3-4 weeks now take 6-8 sometimes. its not ur fault just fyi

One more thing - when you do get through to ESD, ask specifically about the Domestic Violence Unemployment Benefits provisions. There are special considerations for DV survivors under Washington law, including potentially waiving certain requirements. Also ask about backdating your payments to when you first applied once your claim is approved. The adjudication process for DV cases does tend to be more complex because they need to verify your situation while also protecting your privacy, but they should prioritize these cases when possible. If your shelter has legal advocates, they might be able to help navigate this process with you.

this happens literally every holiday but ppl always panic lol. memorial day, july 4, labor day, all the same. ESD computers dont work on holidays either apparently

For future reference, here's how the ESD payment schedule typically works: - File weekly claim on Sunday - Processing Monday-Tuesday (add a day for holidays) - Payment processing Tuesday-Wednesday (add a day for holidays) - Funds available Wednesday-Thursday (add a day for holidays) So with a Monday holiday, expect everything to be pushed back to Friday or the following Monday. Also worth knowing that end-of-month claims (like the ones that overlap June/July or December/January) often take longer because of ESD's accounting cycles.

not sure about appeals but i got disqualfied in december and just found a new job instead of dealing with esd. too much hassle tbh. goodluck

One thing I forgot to mention in my first comment - prepare for your hearing like it's a job interview. Dress professionally (even for a phone hearing, it puts you in the right mindset), speak clearly and calmly, and stick to FACTS rather than emotions. The judge who handled my case seemed really impressed that I had organized my evidence chronologically in a binder with tabs and could immediately reference specific dates and conversations. Don't interrupt the employer's testimony even when they're lying - just make notes and address each point when it's your turn. One last thing - remember that the hearing is being recorded, so avoid swearing or getting emotional, no matter how frustrating it gets!

UPDATE: Finally got through to someone! For anyone else with this issue - I used the 833-572-8400 number that @ClaimExpert suggested and pressed 1, then 3 like they said. Still waited about an hour but actually spoke to a person! My problem was that when I reopened my claim, it got flagged for "eligibility review" which prevented the weekly claim option from appearing. The agent manually added the option to my account and I was able to backdate my claim to include the waiting week. They said this is happening to a lot of people right now because their system was updated in February. Thanks everyone for your help!

@UI_Struggler Glad you got through! For your first payment after reopening, it typically takes 3-5 business days once you've successfully filed those weekly claims. Since you had that eligibility flag, it might take slightly longer, but you should see it by next week. The waiting week doesn't pay out but it's important that it's properly credited in the system.