Good news - ESD doesn't always take the entire amount at once. By law, they need to leave you with at least 25% of your weekly benefit amount if you can demonstrate financial hardship, which it sounds like you can. So worst case scenario, they'll take 75% of your benefit amount, not the whole thing. Make sure you're very specific about your hardship circumstances in your request form and provide as much documentation as possible. And just to clarify something I've seen confused in other comments: the hardship waiver (where they forgive some/all of the debt) is different from a payment plan. The hardship waiver is much harder to get approved and typically only happens if the overpayment wasn't your fault. Since you mentioned you reported hours incorrectly, they'll likely not approve a waiver but should approve a payment plan.

Final update: Success! I used that Claimyr service and actually got through to someone at ESD this afternoon. They confirmed they received my payment plan request and put a hold on the automatic recovery until they review my documents. The agent said it typically takes 5-7 business days to review payment plan requests but she noted in my file that my next payment is coming up soon. She also confirmed that if approved, they'll only take 25% of my benefits each week instead of the full amount. What a relief! Thanks everyone for your help!

Update to my earlier comment - one specific thing that helped me with my TB approval was getting a letter from my community college's worker retraining office. They helped document that my field was declining and that my new training path had strong employment prospects. Most community colleges and technical schools have these offices specifically to help with ESD training programs. They know exactly what ESD is looking for in the applications.

That's a great idea! I'll reach out to Bellevue College's worker retraining office tomorrow and see if they can help with documentation. I didn't even think about that resource.

I used to work for ESD before switching careers, and here's what I can tell you: The phone system is programmed to automatically disconnect when the queue reaches capacity (usually around 200-250 callers). This is frustrating but actually more efficient than leaving people on hold for 5+ hours. For your specific availability issue, here's what you should do: 1. Call exactly at 7:58am when the phone lines open 2. When prompted, press 1 for claims, 3 for agent 3. If disconnected, immediately try again 4. Keep detailed notes of each call attempt (time, date, result) If you still can't get through after 3 days of attempts, document this thoroughly and include it with your appeal if you get disqualified. The OAH (Office of Administrative Hearings) judges will often consider your good-faith efforts to resolve issues when making determinations. Also, send a detailed message through eServices with all relevant information about your availability issue. Specifically request adjudication of this issue. Print a copy of this message for your records.

UPDATE: I tried the Claimyr service that someone mentioned above, and I ACTUALLY got through to a real person at ESD after weeks of trying! The representative was able to see that my adjudication was for my availability statement, and she updated my file with the correct information. She said the adjudicator should review it within 3-5 business days. Such a relief! Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions!

this happened to me to. i just started applying for jobs in portland even tho i live in vancouver. never would have taken them but who cares ESD just wants to see the numbers

Just to clarify some of the advice here: while expanding your search area is reasonable, be careful about applying for jobs you have absolutely no intention of accepting. If you're offered a position and refuse it without good cause, ESD can disqualify you for benefits. "Good cause" typically means the job is unsuitable for your skills/experience, pays substantially less than your previous work, or would require an unreasonable commute. What constitutes an "unreasonable commute" varies, but generally anything over 1 hour each way might qualify - though ESD evaluates this case-by-case. If you're applying for remote positions or jobs in other cities with the genuine willingness to relocate if offered, that's completely legitimate. I'd suggest focusing on quality rather than quantity in your job search activities. Three meaningful activities each week that actually advance your employment prospects are better than scrambling to hit the number with activities that won't lead anywhere.

me and my bf both got fired from the same company back in 2023 and they didnt report his wages either!!! make sure you file your weekly claims even while waiting for them to sort out the wage thing!!! that was our mistake, we thought we had to wait and then they denied us backpayment for those weeks we didnt file weekly claims even tho it wasnt our fault!

Update: Just submitted my application and found the section where I could report my wages manually! I uploaded all my paystubs and wrote a brief explanation in the comments section. Now looking for that ESD 5208 form to submit. Thank you all for the guidance - I'll keep filing my weekly claims while this gets sorted out. Hopefully they'll process everything quickly since rent is due soon... 😬