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
Fox KTVUABC 7CBSSan Francisco Chronicle


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 :)

No payment received despite ESD showing 'paid' status - can't get through high call volume

I'm seriously at my wits end with this ESD nightmare. My online account clearly shows my weekly claims as 'paid' for the last 2 weeks, with payment dates and everything, but absolutely NOTHING has hit my bank account. I've been calling every single day - early morning (7:01am), mid-day, afternoon, you name it. Every single time I get the same automated message about 'high call volume' and then it just disconnects me! I've sent 3 messages through eServices but radio silence. Has anyone actually managed to get through to a real person recently? This is getting desperate as I've got rent due next week and was counting on this money. What am I supposed to do when the system says it paid me but I got nothing??

this happened to my roomate! turned out hed been approved but then they randomly decided to put him in adjudication (whatever that is) but the system still said paid. he had to send in like his ID and social security card and stuff. took forever. but yeah the call thing is impossible, he never got thru.

0 coins

Adjudication is when they need to review some aspect of your claim manually. It's common for the system to show payments as processed even when they're actually on hold pending adjudication. This is exactly why speaking with an agent is so important - they can see what's actually happening behind the scenes.

0 coins

UPDATE: Finally got through this morning!!! Called the claims center number that @practical_solution suggested at exactly 7:00am and got the high volume message 6 times in a row, but on the 7th try I actually got placed in a queue! Waited for 47 minutes but finally spoke to a very helpful agent named Marcus. Turns out my payments were on hold because of a "quarterly review" flag that happened automatically due to some previous W2 wages. The ridiculous part is that there was NOTHING in my online account showing this hold - it all looked perfectly normal and said "paid"! Marcus removed the hold and said my payments should arrive within 48 hours. He also said this is a "known issue" with their system right now where holds don't display properly online. So frustrating but at least it's fixed now. Thanks everyone for your help!

0 coins

thats awesome! glad u got it fixed!!

0 coins

Great to hear! Those quarterly reviews can be so frustrating, especially when they don't even show up as an issue in your account. Glad you were able to get through and get it resolved!

0 coins

ESD sent me to governor's office - what's the right contact number?

So frustrated with my ESD claim that's been in adjudication for over 9 weeks! Called ESD 15+ times last week and either got disconnected or was on hold for 2+ hours before giving up. Finally got through yesterday and the rep told me that since my claim involves a policy issue, I need to contact the governor's office directly. She gave me a phone number but I lost the sticky note where I wrote it down (totally my fault). Does anyone know the correct contact number for the governor's office for unemployment policy issues? Has anyone else been told to contact them about adjudication delays? Just wondering if this is legitimate advice or if the ESD rep was just trying to get me off the phone.

For your specific situation - separation dispute (quit vs. layoff) - you're in the standard adjudication process. This is 100% handled by ESD adjudicators, not the governor's office. The email evidence you mentioned is exactly what the adjudicator needs to see. Call ESD directly and specifically ask for: 1. The status of your adjudication 2. Confirmation that your documentation has been received and added to your file 3. An estimated timeframe for resolution Be persistent but polite. If they try to redirect you again, ask to speak with a supervisor. Document the date/time of every call and the name of who you spoke with.

0 coins

Thank you! I'll definitely try this approach. I've been documenting everything so far. Just getting so worried since my savings are almost gone and rent is due soon. Really appreciate the guidance.

0 coins

My neighbor works for the legislative office and they said people often contact their state representatives when ESD issues drag on too long. They can sometimes help speed things up! Maybe try that route instead of the governor's office? Just Google "[your area] state representative" to find their contact info.

0 coins

That's a good idea! I hadn't thought of contacting my rep. I'll look them up today. Thanks for the suggestion!

0 coins

How to reapply for ESD unemployment? Can't find the right option on eServices

I received a notification that I need to reapply for a new unemployment claim since my benefit year ended last week. The email says I need to file a new application, but when I log into my eServices account, I can't figure out how to actually do this! I've clicked everywhere and all I see is my old claim info and the weekly claim filing option. Is there a special button or section I'm missing? The notification specifically said NOT to just file a weekly claim. I tried calling ESD but got disconnected after waiting 45 minutes (UGH). Has anyone gone through the reapplication process recently who can walk me through the actual steps? I'm worried about missing payments while I try to figure this out.

I just went through this whole reapplication thing last week! Everyone's advice here is good, just wanna add that if you had any non-standard situations on your previous claim (like workplace disputes or voluntary quits or part-time availability), be prepared to possibly talk to an adjudicator again about all that stuff even if they already approved it on your last claim. Really annoying but just how they work I guess. Good luck!

0 coins

Update: I finally got the reapplication submitted today! The advice here was super helpful. For anyone else searching about this in the future, it really is a completely fresh application - I had to re-enter all my employment history, answer all the qualification questions again, etc. Took me about an hour to complete. Now fingers crossed it processes quickly!

0 coins

Glad you got it submitted! Just remember to keep filing those weekly claims while you wait for the new application to process. And if it takes more than 2 weeks to hear anything, that's when I'd recommend following up.

0 coins

ESD benefit year confusion - can I file after restarting a claim with months still remaining?

I'm totally lost about my benefit year situation with ESD and can't get anyone on the phone to help. My timeline is: I filed for UI when my first contract job ended in December 2023. My benefit year was set from Dec 3, 2023 to Nov 30, 2024. Then I found another contract job in Jan 2024 and worked until July 2025 (about 6 months). When that ended, I contacted ESD and the rep told me I had to RESTART my existing claim rather than file a new one. Here's my problem - I still had about 2 months of benefits remaining on my original claim, but now they're starting a new benefit year completely out of nowhere? The monetary determination was updated to include my most recent role, but I'm super confused about eligibility going forward. If I reapply in my new benefit year (which seems to be starting now?), will I qualify even though it's two consecutive benefit years? Does the 6 months I worked between claims affect anything? I'm worried about being disqualified for some reason I don't understand.

Yes, that's exactly right. Use what you have now until November 30th, then file a new claim. The 6 months of work will be part of your base year calculation for the new claim. Just make sure you keep track of your hours worked during that period - sometimes ESD misses some employers in their wage calculations.

0 coins

Perfect - this is so helpful! I'll definitely keep detailed records of all my hours. Thank you everyone for helping make sense of this confusing system!

0 coins

My sister works at worksource and she says people get confused about this all the time. The benefit YEAR (12 month period) is different from your benefit AMOUNT (total $ you can receive). Restarting a claim in the same benefit year means you're just continuing where you left off with whatever benefits remained. Your monetary determination got updated because your weekly amount might change with new wages, but your benefit year dates stay the same.

0 coins

That distinction between benefit year and benefit amount is super helpful! I think that's exactly where my confusion was coming from.

0 coins

ESD payment method delay - will backpay come as checks or direct deposit?

After MONTHS of waiting, my medical leave claim finally got approved yesterday (thank goodness!). But I just realized I never set up a payment method in the system. Total rookie mistake! I immediately added my direct deposit info, but then saw that dreaded message saying it could take up to 2 weeks for payment preferences to be processed. Has anyone else dealt with this situation? My big concern is about the $5,300 in backpay I'm owed from January. Since I'm just now setting up direct deposit for the first time, will all that backpay come as paper checks? Or might it still process through direct deposit since I technically didn't have ANY payment method selected before? The ESD website is super vague about this and I've been trying to call for two days with no luck. Really hoping to avoid waiting for multiple checks in the mail!

the esd payment system is such a MESS. i got approved for benefits in march and had direct deposit set up right away but they STILL sent me paper checks for the first 3 weeks!!! when i called they said it was a "system glitch" but wouldn't fix it. eventually the direct deposit started working but i never got a clear explanation why. their whole system needs an overhaul.

0 coins

this happens ALL THE TIME with them! my brother had the EXACT same issue in january. they said his direct deposit was set up but then sent checks anyway. when he finally got through to someone they said something about a "verification flag" on new accounts? idk but its definitely not just you

0 coins

Just to follow up on what others have mentioned - for PFML claims like yours, make sure you keep all documentation related to your payments. If you're receiving a substantial amount of backpay ($5,300), it's a good idea to create a spreadsheet tracking: 1. Each check/payment received 2. The date range each payment covers 3. The gross amount before deductions 4. Any taxes or other withholdings This will help you verify you received the correct amount and will also be useful for tax purposes next year. PFML benefits are taxable income, and sometimes the tax withholding isn't applied consistently across all payments, especially with backpay situations.

0 coins

Thank you for this advice! I hadn't even thought about the tax implications. I'll definitely set up a tracking system once the payments start coming in. Really appreciate all the helpful responses here!

0 coins

Prev1...20552056205720582059...2231Next