Washington Unemployment
CommunityGovernment Services
Can't reach Washington Unemployment? Claimyr calls for you, so you don't have to wait on hold.
Claimyr is a pay-as-you-go service. We do not charge a recurring subscription.
Using Claimyr will:
- Connect you to a human agent at the ESD
- Skip the long phone menu
- Call the correct department
- Redial until on hold
- Forward a call to your phone with reduced hold time
- Give you free callbacks if the ESD drops your call
Ask the community...
- DO post questions about your issues.
- DO answer questions and support each other.
- DO post tips & tricks to help folks.
- DO NOT post call problems here - there is a support tab at the top for that :)
Favorable ESD determination but claims still show 'disqualified' - when will I get backpay?
I'm so confused about what's happening with my unemployment. I finally got a determination letter on January 30th saying ESD decided in my favor after waiting FOREVER. But when I check my weekly claims, they all still say "disqualified" with no explanation why! There's literally no messages telling me what's wrong. Nothing in my ESD inbox either. Does anyone know how long it takes for them to actually process the backpay after a favorable determination? I've got like 6 weeks of claims that should be paid now. My rent is already late and my landlord is getting super annoyed. I tried calling but just get the "high call volume" message and disconnected. Getting desperate here... has anyone been through this?
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Denied ESD benefits after quitting job - worth appealing after 2 month wait?
I'm completely frustrated with ESD right now. I quit my toxic retail job back in early November (manager was literally screaming at employees & creating unsafe conditions). Filed my unemployment claim around Nov 12th and just TODAY - almost 2 months later - they finally bothered to tell me I'm denied benefits! The determination letter says I left work "voluntarily without good cause" even though I explained the hostile work environment in detail. Has anyone successfully appealed after quitting? Is it even worth trying at this point or am I just wasting more time? The appeal deadline is 10 days from now and I'm so discouraged after waiting 2 months just to get denied. Any advice would be really appreciated.
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i know someone that appealed and won but they had documentation from their doctor saying the job was affecting their mental health. do u have anything like that?
I did actually start seeing a therapist because of the stress... I never thought about asking for documentation from them. That's a really good idea!
Don't forget that even if you appeal, you need to keep filing your weekly claims! Many people miss this. Even if your initial claim is denied, if you win on appeal, they'll pay you for all those weeks - but ONLY if you filed claims for them. It's easy to get discouraged and stop filing, but that's a big mistake.
I actually stopped filing after the first month when I hadn't heard anything... I guess I should start again? Will they backpay me for the weeks I missed filing?
Unfortunately, they won't pay for weeks you didn't file. But definitely start filing again now so you don't lose any more potential weeks. You can also explain in your appeal why you stopped filing - sometimes they'll make exceptions if you have a good reason.
ESD says I have to wait TWO MONTHS for payment - about to be evicted!
I'm completely desperate at this point. Filed for unemployment 5 weeks ago and still NOTHING. Finally got through to an ESD agent yesterday (miracle!) only to be told I need to wait TWO MORE MONTHS before I'll see any money!!! Their reason? "We're busy." That's it. Just "we're busy." They literally told me the ONLY way they'd expedite my claim is if I'm actively being evicted. So basically they want me to wait until I'm homeless before they'll help?? I've already burned through my savings. Rent is due again in 2 weeks. I've called Governor Inslee's office and just got sent to voicemail. Left THREE messages, no callback. How is this even legal?? What am I supposed to do for TWO MONTHS with no income? Has anyone else been told they have to wait this long? Did you actually get paid when they said you would? Any advice before I completely lose it?
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anyone know if i can apply for food stamps while waiting for unemployment to come thru?? im in the same boat, week 6 of waiting...
Yes, absolutely! You can and should apply for food benefits through DSHS while waiting. Your pending unemployment status actually makes you potentially eligible for expedited food benefits (you could get them within 7 days). Apply online at washingtonconnection.org or visit your local DSHS office.
I've been following this thread and wanted to check if you've made any progress? One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is requesting an official "hardship review" - this is different from just mentioning financial hardship. Call ESD and specifically say: "I need to request a formal hardship review for my claim due to imminent financial crisis." This triggers a specific process where they're required to evaluate your case within 48 hours. Also, when calling, try early morning (7:30-8:00am) or late afternoon (3:30-4:00pm) as these tend to have slightly shorter wait times. If using their callback feature, make sure your voicemail isn't full and your phone accepts calls from private/unknown numbers. Have you tried any of these approaches yet?
Update: I finally got some movement on my claim! I tried the formal hardship review request like you suggested, and also used Claimyr to get through to an actual person. Got connected to a tier 2 specialist who found the issue - apparently my former employer disputed my hours (even though I reported them correctly). The agent put in an expedite request based on my hardship documentation and said I should see a determination within 7-10 days instead of the original 2 months! Still not immediate, but WAY better than before. Thank you everyone for all the advice - this forum has been so helpful when I was feeling completely lost in the ESD maze.
ESD payment delay this Monday - anyone else still waiting for last week's deposit?
I've been claiming my unemployment benefits by phone consistently for the past 2 months and my payment always hits my account by 8:30 AM on Monday like clockwork. It's now after noon and I still haven't received anything for the week I claimed yesterday. No status change in my eServices account either - still shows 'processed' but no payment. Starting to get worried since I have rent due Friday. Is this happening to anyone else this week? Or is there some bank holiday I forgot about that might be causing the delay?
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Just want to update everyone - my payment just hit my account about 10 minutes ago (4:45pm Monday). Looks like they're slowly working through the backlog. Check your accounts!
Just checked and mine came through too! Crisis averted lol
Thank you for the update! Just checked and mine is still not there, but feeling much better knowing they're actively processing them. Will keep an eye out!
No ESD payments since October 15th application - rent due soon!
So I submitted my unemployment application over a month ago (October 15th) and haven't received a single payment yet. My claim status just says 'pending' with no explanation. I've been filing my weekly claims religiously but nothing is coming through. My landlord is already asking about December rent and I'm honestly freaking out. I've tried calling ESD like 20+ times but either get disconnected or am on hold until they close. Has anyone else experienced delays this long? Is there anything I can do to speed this up or at least find out what's going on? This is my first time on unemployment and I'm completely lost.
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UPDATE: I finally got through to ESD! Used the Claimyr service that someone recommended here and it worked - got connected to an agent in about 25 minutes. Turns out my former employer didn't respond to ESD's request for information, which put my claim in limbo. The agent manually pushed it through and said I should see payments for all my back weeks within 48 hours. THANK YOU everyone for your help and suggestions. I was seriously about to have a breakdown over this.
Miles Hammonds
You should check if you have any additional fact-finding questions in your eServices account. Sometimes there are multiple issues and even if one gets resolved favorably, another might be holding up payment. Log in and look under "Alerts" and also check all tabs under the "Uploads and Messages" section. I missed a fact-finding questionnaire that was hiding there and it delayed my payments for weeks!
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Logan Chiang
THIS!!! they hide important stuff in weird places on the website and then blame US when we dont find it!! happened to me too and the rep had the nerve to say it was MY fault for not checking some random tab!!!!
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Sophie Duck
Just following up - did you ever get your payments resolved? I'm curious if the website message suggestion or anything else worked for you.
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Lucas Lindsey
AuthorUpdate: Finally got through to ESD yesterday! Used that Claimyr service someone mentioned above and it actually worked. Turns out I had a payment block that needed manual removal even though they ruled in my favor. The agent fixed it while I was on the phone and said payments should process within 48 hours. Just checked my account and the status changed from "disqualified" to "pending"! Relief!!
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