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.

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.

Everyone has been so helpful - thank you! I'm going to apply right away and make sure I do those weekly claims even during severance. One last question: if I get a job offer during my severance period but the start date is after my severance ends, will I still be eligible for unemployment for those weeks between severance ending and my new job starting?

jut wondering - do you have to pay taxes on unemployment benifits? and do they take taxes out or you have to pay them later? trying to figure this out for my budgeting

Another thing to check: did you recently pass your benefit year end date? Sometimes there's a payment gap when your claim rolls over to a new benefit year, even if you have remaining benefits. The system might be recalculating your eligibility. They don't make this clear anywhere in the portal.

Quick update: just got my payment today! It was just delayed for some reason. The double payment from last week was indeed for a back-week adjustment like someone mentioned. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions!