My brother had an overpayment from 2023 and his waiver took 9 months to get approved!! By the time they finished he had already paid back half of it because he was scared of the collection threats. Then he had to wait another 2 months to get a refund for what he'd already paid. The whole system is designed to make you give up and just pay even if you qualify for forgiveness.

Update on my earlier comment - I just remembered something important. When I called ESD about my waiver, the agent mentioned they were prioritizing cases where people had submitted a "Financial Hardship Statement" along with their waiver request. It's not officially required, but apparently it helps move your case up in the queue. Basically, write up a 1-page statement explaining: 1. Why you can't afford to repay the amount 2. How the overpayment wasn't your fault 3. How repayment would affect your ability to meet basic needs Submit this through eServices as an additional document for your waiver request. Title it "Financial Hardship Statement - [Your Name] - [Claim ID]

when i had this happen the esd lady told me they only care about employers in your "base year" which is like the last 5 quarters or something before you filed. so if that old job was before your base year it doesnt even matter. but yeah call and make sure the right info is there about your recent employer thats the important part

I had a kinda related issue whre ESD kept sending letters to an employer I worked at for like 3 weeks as a temp job. They were suuuuper confused and kept calling me about it even tho I had a full time job after that for 2 years which was the one that actually laid me off! The system is so weird sometimes lol. But I eventually got it sorted by talking to an agent on the phone who fixed it in their system.

Just to follow up on the job search activities question - yes, you still need to complete and document 3 job search activities for both weeks, including the week where you returned to work. It might seem pointless since you already have a job, but it's required if you're claiming any benefits for that week. Once you stop claiming benefits entirely, you can stop doing job search activities.

anybody know how long it takes to get the partial payment for the week you go back? my last partial took FOREVER compared to my regular claims

Just a quick update - I checked with a colleague who specializes in overpayment issues, and she confirmed that ESD is currently taking about 3-4 weeks to process refunds after waiver approvals. The small $83 deposit is likely what they call a \

Thanks for checking on this! It's really reassuring to hear that the $83 is normal and the bigger refund should still be coming. I appreciate you following up with more info.

One other thing to know - once your bonding claim is approved, you'll need to file weekly claims just like with unemployment. Many people miss this step and wonder why their payments stopped. The system doesn't make this clear at all, but you need to log in each week to certify you're still on leave. The website to file weekly claims is different from where you submitted your initial application.

Yes, you log into your PFML account through SecureAccess Washington, then look for the section that says "File a weekly claim." You'll need to do this every week during your approved leave period. You'll answer questions confirming you were on leave that week and not working. If you miss a week, you can file for past weeks, but it's easier to just stay on top of it once your claim is approved.