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im on week 6 of waiting for my first payment lol. approved doesnt mean anything. welcome to the washington esd system!
Just to follow up on this thread - one common reason for payment delays after approval is the bank verification process. ESD sometimes does micro-deposits to verify your account before sending the full payment amount. Check your bank account for any small deposits (usually less than $1) from Washington State. Also, if you have any previous employers contesting your claim, that can cause delays even after initial approval. The status might show approved while they're still resolving an employer dispute in the background. For weekly claims after your first payment, the standard timing is processing on Sunday/Monday and deposit by Wednesday/Thursday if there are no issues.
Update: The money finally came through this morning! Looks like it took exactly 13 days after approval. Thanks everyone for your help and advice. For anyone else reading this later, just know that "approved" doesn't mean immediate payment - be prepared to wait 1-2 weeks for that first payment to process.
My nephew went through something sort of similar last year but it was for a different reason than medical, his car broke down and he couldn't get to work for a few days and they fired him. But anyway his OAH hearing was scheduled after about 5 weeks and then it was another 3 weeks until the actual hearing happened. He ended up losing his case though because they said transportation issues aren't a qualifying reason. But medical issues are totally different so you should be fine I would think especially if you have all the documentation like you said.
You're right that medical issues and transportation issues are treated very differently under unemployment law. Medical issues with proper documentation can qualify as good cause for missing work, while transportation problems generally don't unless there were truly extraordinary circumstances beyond normal car troubles.
anybody else feel like the whole system is designed to frustrate us into giving up? like why should it take 2+ months to get a hearing for something this straightforward? not everyone can wait that long without income
EXACTLY!!! That's what I've been saying. The entire system is RIGGED against workers. They WANT you to give up so they don't have to pay you what you're legally entitled to. It's all about saving money for the state, not helping people who paid into the system. It's disgusting.
There's definitely room for improvement in the system, but the delays are often due to the sheer volume of cases. OAH processes appeals for many state agencies, not just ESD. While it doesn't help your immediate situation, many appeals are successful - about 30-40% of denials get overturned when appealed, which shows the system does work, albeit slowly.
Getting through to ESD to ask this kind of question is practically impossible these days. I spent THREE DAYS trying to reach someone about a similar issue last month. Their phone lines are constantly busy, and when I finally got through, I was on hold for over 2 hours before being disconnected! I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an ESD representative. They have this service that basically waits on hold for you and calls you back when an agent is available. Saved me so much frustration! They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 This is definitely a question where you want an official answer from ESD rather than risking your appeal over advice from the internet (no offense to anyone here).
does ne1 know if theres a seperate # for overpayment issues?? i got a letter saying i owe $4200 back and i NEED to talk to someone!!
Just wanted to update - I called 43 times this morning starting exactly at 8:00 am and FINALLY got through to someone at 8:37. The rep was actually super helpful and fixed my issue in 10 minutes. So keep trying!!!
Carter Holmes
My friend just went through this. The 10 weeks definitely starts from your termination date. She got benefits exactly on week 11. Be super careful with your job search logs during this time though - they scrutinize them more heavily for people with misconduct determinations. Make sure you're doing your 3 activities every week and documenting everything in detail!
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Amelia Cartwright
•That's good to know about the extra scrutiny. I've been really thorough with my job search logs so far - typing up detailed notes about each application and keeping a separate record outside the ESD system just in case. I'll be extra careful these next few weeks.
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Zachary Hughes
One more thing - after your 10 weeks are up, it can sometimes take an extra week for payments to actually hit your account. ESD's system doesn't always process the transition immediately. So don't panic if you don't see money right away after week 10. And DEFINITELY call if nothing happens by week 12!
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Amelia Cartwright
•Thanks for the heads up. My savings are getting really low at this point, so I'm counting on those benefits starting on time. I'll be prepared for a possible delay though. Hoping it all goes smoothly!
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