Wait are holiday furloughs even eligible for unemployment? My company does this too but HR told us we shouldn't file because it's planned in advance or something. Now I'm confused if I've been missing out on benefits I could've claimed...

Update: I reopened my claim yesterday and selected "TEMPORARY LAYOFF" as everyone suggested. I made sure to enter my return-to-work date and answered "Yes" when asked if I'm returning to the same employer. The system accepted my application without any errors, so hopefully it goes through smoothly! I'll update again once I know if it gets approved or stuck in adjudication. Thanks everyone for your help!

Glad to hear it worked out for both of you! The ESD agent I spoke with mentioned their payment status system often lags 1-2 days behind actual payments during these processing delays. Definitely worth checking your bank account directly rather than just relying on the ESD portal status.

same here! money showed up 2day but esd site still says processing. weird system they hav lol

I had a similar situation in 2024 and what tripped me up was that I didn't realize I needed to list my temp job as a new employer. When reopening, make sure you have the company name, address, phone number, first/last work date, and reason for separation ready. If you select "temporary job ended" as your reason for separation, you generally won't have issues with adjudication (that's when they investigate job separations). Also important: if your benefit year is close to ending, double-check the date in your eServices account. If you're within a few weeks of that end date, the process might be different.

To directly answer your follow-up question: Yes, you'll reopen first, then file for the week including those last 3 days worked (reporting those earnings), and then you'll be back to regular weekly claims after that. Make sure you're also keeping track of your job search activities - you still need 3 per week starting the week after your last work day. So if Thursday was your last day, you need 3 job search activities for the following week.

have u tried messaging ur state representative?? thats wat i did after waiting 9 wks and suddenly my claim got fixed in 3 days!! they can do something called a "legislative inquiry" that puts ur claim at the top of someones list. worth a try b4 u go thru all that job application stuff lol

I share your frustration with the system, but I'd caution against assuming the delays are due to incompetence or poor management. The reality is that ESD is dealing with an antiquated computer system that was scheduled for replacement before the pandemic hit. The claims process involves multiple verification points through different agencies and employers, and adjudication specifically means there's some discrepancy that requires human investigation. If you're serious about applying, search for "Unemployment Insurance Specialist" or "Employment Security Specialist" on careers.wa.gov. But be aware - the starting pay isn't great considering the technical knowledge required (around $22-28/hour depending on experience), and the pressure can be intense when you're dealing with people who are desperate for their benefits. In the meantime, have you tried requesting an expedite on your claim due to financial hardship? There's a specific process for this that can sometimes help.

For those in adjudication, here's what's likely happening: When a claim requires adjudication, it gets assigned to a specialist who reviews all documentation, may contact your employer, and determines eligibility based on law/policy. The issue is ESD is severely backlogged on these specialist reviews, despite hiring more staff over the past year. Standard wait times currently are: - Regular UI adjudication: 4-6 weeks - Quit/Fired issues: 5-8 weeks - Complex wage disputes: 6-10 weeks The governor's office trick works because they can flag your claim for expedited review, essentially jumping the queue. State representatives can do the same. It's not fair, but it's unfortunately how the system is working right now.

My adjudication took 7 weeks last month, but I never thought to call the governor's office. That's actually pretty smart. My issue was that I had two employers in my base year and one of them disputed my hours. Eventually got resolved in my favor but the wait was terrible. Glad you finally got paid!