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ESD specialist here. One week is actually pretty early in the process to be concerned. The standard processing time for initial claims is currently 10-14 business days without any issues. If there are any discrepancies that require adjudication, it will take significantly longer. Continue filing your weekly claims on time while you wait. This is EXTREMELY important - if your initial claim is approved but you haven't been filing weekly claims, you won't receive benefits for those weeks. As for reaching an agent by phone, the official advice is to call during non-peak hours (typically Wednesday-Thursday afternoons), but in reality, the call volume is consistently high. The online message center in eServices is often more effective than calling, though responses can take 3-5 business days. One thing to check: make sure you've completed the ID verification process through ID.me if prompted. This is often a common holdup for new claims.
when i had a claim last year i couldn't reach anyone for weeks and then found out they needed some employer info that they never told me about!! my claim was just sitting there the whole time! so frustrating! i ended up having to go to the WorkSource center in person and got help that way after waiting for like 3 hours
Just checking back - did your payment arrive yet? It should have hit your account by now if it showed as paid on Tuesday.
Have you tried contacting your state representative? I was stuck in a similar situation for weeks and nothing worked until I reached out to my district rep. Their office has special contacts at ESD and got my issue resolved in 3 days after I'd been waiting for months. Just Google "[your county] state representative" and reach out to their constituent services.
UPDATE: I just got paid!!! All 9 weeks came through at once! I used the Claimyr service that someone mentioned above to finally reach an agent this morning. Turns out there was a "system flag" on my account because I had two employers in my base year and one of them hadn't responded. The ESD agent manually overrode it since the appeal period had passed. She said the money should be in my account in 48 hours, but it actually showed up just 3 hours later! SUCH a relief. Thanks everyone for your help!
To properly address your overpayment and protect your tax refund, follow these steps: 1. Log into your eServices account at secure.esd.wa.gov 2. Navigate to the "Overpayment" section 3. Select "Set up payment plan" 4. Choose a monthly amount you can afford (even $20-30/month is acceptable) 5. Make sure you make the first payment immediately As long as you have an active payment plan and are making payments, ESD won't refer your debt to collections or the Treasury Offset Program. The key is taking action before the 30-day response window expires. Also, check if the overpayment is classified as "fraudulent" or "non-fraudulent" - if it's just a simple reporting error, it should be non-fraudulent which gives you more flexible repayment options.
Make sure to keep all documentation too! I had a payment plan that somehow got "lost" in their system and they still tried to take my refund even though I had been making payments. I had to send them copies of my bank statements showing the payments to get it straightened out. Their record-keeping isn't always great.
Ava Rodriguez
One thing to note is that in Washington, if your hours at your main job ever drop below 40 in any week (even temporarily due to holidays, business slowdowns, etc.), you should file for that specific week. The system evaluates eligibility weekly, not based on your regular schedule. So keep that in mind going forward - there may be occasional weeks where you could qualify.
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Dmitry Smirnov
•That's actually really helpful to know! My main job sometimes has reduced hours around holidays or inventory periods. I'll make sure to file during those weeks. At least that might provide some occasional relief.
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Keisha Taylor
Have you considered looking for a replacement second job? The job market is actually pretty good in some sectors right now. Maybe WorkSource could help with job placement to replace the lost income?
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Dmitry Smirnov
•Yes, I'm definitely job hunting for a replacement second job. It's just taking time to find something with flexible hours that works around my main job schedule. In the meantime, I was hoping for some temporary support from unemployment, but I guess that's not happening. I'll check with WorkSource though - thanks!
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