One more tip - when you call, ask for the name and contact information of the person you're speaking with at the governor's office. Then follow up with an email summarizing your conversation and thanking them for their help. This creates a paper trail and shows you're serious. I did this and included all my documentation as attachments (screenshots of my ESD account status, my call log showing all my attempt to reach ESD, etc.). The email follow-up seemed to really help move things along.

OMG I had to call Gov Inslee's office TWICE and lemme tell you the second call was totally different than the first!! First time they were like "we'll look into it" and nothing happened for 3 weeks. Second time I called I mentioned I was working with a JOURNALIST about ESD problems (total bluff lol) and BOOM got a call from ESD leadership team the next day!! Sometimes you gotta get a little creative 😂

when you got the OAH attorney did you have to pay them anything upfront? or do they take a percentage of your benefits? trying to figure out if i can afford to appeal

Just want to add some context that might help others: The success rate for appeals with legal representation is significantly higher than those without. According to OAH statistics from 2024, claimants with representation won approximately 67% of their appeals, compared to only 41% for those representing themselves. If you're denied representation through OAH for some reason, there are also nonprofit legal aid organizations like the Unemployment Law Project that can help. They specialize in unemployment cases and work on a sliding scale basis. Also worth noting that the appeal needs to be filed within 30 days of the date on your determination letter (not the date you received it). If you're close to that deadline, you can file a basic appeal immediately just stating you disagree with the determination, then submit additional documentation later.

I'd like to clarify something important: when you receive a monetary determination after a denied claim, you should check two key things: 1. Look at the "Effective Date" on the new determination - if it's different from your original claim date, it could be a completely new claim period being evaluated. 2. Review the "Potential Benefits" section - even if it shows a weekly benefit amount, this doesn't mean you're eligible. It just shows what you would receive IF you qualified based on wages alone. The monetary determination is just one part of eligibility. If you were denied for insufficient hours initially, but this new determination shows different hours/wages, you might want to check if something changed in your wage record. Don't ignore this letter - either way, it's an official determination that could be appealed if incorrect.

One more thing to consider - if you applied for regular UI and were denied, but might qualify for another program like PIT (Paid Internship Training) or certain trade-specific benefits, the system sometimes automatically evaluates you for those. The new determination might be for a different type of benefit program entirely.

my brother had something similar happen last year and what worked for him was gathering all his job search proof and writing a super detailed letter explaining exactly why he missed the deadline and proof he did everything right. the judge ended up being really understanding when they saw all the documentation. don't just say "i did the job searches" - PROVE it with screenshots, emails, names, everything you can find.

Just a heads up - even if you start an appeal process, they might still send the overpayment to collections if you don't set up a repayment plan in the meantime. They did that to me without warning and it damaged my credit score. The whole system is rigged against us!

what happens with ur fmla? is it paid or unpaid? cuz if unpaid maybe u shud keep unemployment?? jus curious

Update: I called ESD this morning and they confirmed what most of you said. I don't need to formally cancel anything, just don't file weekly claims. The representative did make a note in my file about the FMLA situation, which she said would help if I need to reactivate my claim later. Thanks everyone for your help!