Washington Unemployment
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Paid Family Leave hours + first UI week - Will my waiting week be waived?
I'm confused about how my waiting week works with partial Paid Family Leave. I had 34 hours of Paid Family Leave (PFL) left from when my daughter was born in late 2024. I claimed those hours during my first week of unemployment and got approved for that PFL payment. My question is: Will ESD count that first week as my waiting week for regular UI benefits even though I received partial PFL, or will I need to wait an additional week before UI payments start? When filing my first UI weekly claim, there wasn't an option to indicate I was expecting PFL payments specifically, so I selected that I was expecting "sick pay" since that seemed closest. Now my claim shows "pending issues" stating they need more information, but there are no tasks, alerts or messages telling me what information they need or what I should do. I'm worried I did something wrong and don't want to appear dishonest about my situation. Has anyone dealt with this PFL/UI overlap before?
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ESD says I'm not at fault for overpayment I already repaid - will they refund me?
So I'm totally confused right now. Last October I received an overpayment notice saying I owed ESD $2,875 for benefits they claimed I shouldn't have received during May-July. I panicked and just paid the whole amount back using my savings because I was afraid of penalties. Today (8 months later!!) I got a letter in the mail saying they've determined I'm "not at fault" for the overpayment after reviewing my case. Now I'm wondering what happens next? Does this mean they'll automatically refund my $2,875? Do I need to call them or fill out some form to request my money back? Has anyone dealt with this before? I tried calling the ESD number this morning but got the "due to high call volume" message and it disconnected me after 25 minutes on hold.
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I work in employment law (not for ESD) and can add some context here. When ESD determines you're "not at fault" for an overpayment, it means they've concluded you didn't misrepresent anything or try to collect benefits you knew you weren't entitled to. By law, they must refund any money you've already repaid on a non-fault overpayment. However, their internal processes weren't designed well for this scenario. Their collection system and refund system are separate, which causes delays. As others have suggested, call and specifically request to speak with the overpayment department. Be very clear that you've already paid the full amount and now have a determination letter saying you're not at fault. Use those exact terms. They may tell you to wait for automatic processing, but in my experience, these refunds rarely happen without direct follow-up from the claimant. Be politely persistent.
Thank you so much for this information! Do you know if there's a time limit for how long I have to request the refund? I'm worried since it's already been 8 months since I paid it back.
Generally, you have up to one year from the date of the "not at fault" determination letter (not from when you made the payment) to request a refund. So you should be fine time-wise based on just receiving the letter, but I wouldn't delay in contacting them.
my cousin had this EXACT situation in 2023 and she neve rgot her money back because she waited too long to call them!! dont wait!!! ESD is terrible about this stuff u have to be super aggresive or they will just keep ur money
Oh no, that's terrible! How long did she wait? I'm definitely going to call on Monday.
she waited like 3 months thinking they would automatically refund it and by then they said she needed some form that she never got in the mail. total scam if u ask me
Can I file one more weekly ESD claim after starting a new job?
So I finally got a job offer after 4 months of looking and started working this Wednesday (like 3 days ago). I've been filing unemployment claims every week since November. Now I'm wondering - can I file one more claim for this partial week before my job started? Or does ESD consider me fully employed as soon as I start, even if it's mid-week? I reported some gig work in previous weeks and just reduced my benefit amount, so wondering if this works the same way. Anyone know the rules on this? Thx
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Here are the exact rules from ESD: 1. You must report all hours worked in your claim week, even if you haven't been paid yet 2. You must report gross earnings (before taxes/deductions) 3. If your earnings are less than your weekly benefit amount, you'll receive a partial payment 4. The formula is: Weekly benefit amount - (earnings - $5) = partial payment Also important: this final claim closes out your benefit year properly, which matters if you need to reapply in the future. And don't forget to report your new job in the "report a new job" section of eServices!
This is SUPER helpful, thank you! I didn't know about the $5 deduction thing, and I definitely wouldn't have known to report the new job separately in eServices. You probably saved me from making a mistake.
i went thru this in january... make sure u answer YES to the "did u work" question then enter all ur info... they'll deny ur claim if ur earnings are 2 high but at least its all documented right... oh and dont 4get they count HOURS too not just money so if u worked more than like 17 hrs u might be denied anyway...
Good point about the hours. For clarity, you're disqualified if you work 40 hours or more in a week regardless of how much you earned. But for partial weeks, you can still qualify as long as you worked less than 40 hours AND earned less than your weekly benefit amount.
ESD weekly claim by phone vs online - faster processing after holidays?
I've been having weird glitches with my ESD online account so I decided to call in my weekly claim today instead of filing online. With Monday being a bank holiday, I'm wondering if anyone knows whether phone claims actually process faster than online claims during holiday weeks? The agent I talked to wasn't sure. I'm getting anxious because I really need this payment to hit before my rent is due on the 15th. Has anyone else noticed any difference in processing times between phone vs online claims, especially around holidays?
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To directly answer your question about holidays: ESD itself operates on business days, but the bank holiday does affect when funds are released to your account. Here's how the timing typically works: 1. Claim filed (online or phone) - Day 0 2. ESD processes claim - 1-2 business days 3. Bank transfer initiated - Day 2-3 4. Funds available in your account - Day 3-4 With Monday being a bank holiday, the entire schedule shifts by one day. If you filed today (Tuesday), you'll likely see funds by Friday or Monday. One tip: If you're continuing to have issues with the online system, request a SAW account reset. Sometimes the issues are related to cached credentials rather than the ESD system itself.
This is super helpful! Thank you for breaking it down so clearly. I'll try the SAW account reset - didn't know that was an option.
is anyone else having problems with job search requirements? i cant log into worksource and esd says i need 3 job searches but the worksource site is down!!! so stressed
You might want to start a new thread about WorkSource issues since that's a different topic. But briefly - you can still record your job searches offline and enter them later when the site is working again. Keep detailed notes of all your job search activities.
Forgot to report Instacart earnings on ESD weekly claim - How to fix without getting penalized?
I'm freaking out a little bit. Last week I did some Instacart deliveries on Wednesday when I was desperate for gas money (only made about $82 after expenses). When I filed my weekly unemployment claim on Sunday, I completely blanked and forgot to report those earnings.\n\nI've been trying non-stop to reach ESD since Monday morning to correct this mistake. Every single time I call, I get the automated message saying 'due to high call volume, we cannot take your call right now' and it hangs up on me. I've tried calling at 8:01am, 10:30am, 2pm, 4:30pm - always the same message.\n\nI'm worried this is going to look like I deliberately lied on my claim. I don't want to get hit with an overpayment or fraud accusation. Has anyone successfully reached ESD to correct earnings after filing? Is there another way to report this mistake without getting on the phone with them? The eServices website doesn't seem to have any option to correct a submitted weekly claim.
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StarStrider
something also to watch for - make sure your next weekly claim is filed on time even while waiting for the first one to get sorted out. i messed up and thought i had to wait for the first week to process before filing the next one and it caused a whole new issue
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Isabella Santos
AuthorThat's a good reminder! I've been filing each week on Sunday even though the first week is still pending. Hoping that's the right approach.
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Chloe Anderson
Just a quick update based on what I've heard from former colleagues: ESD is experiencing higher than normal processing times for these types of issues right now due to some staffing changes in early 2025. Be prepared for 3-4 weeks for resolution. And yes, continue filing weekly claims even while waiting for the first one to be processed.
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