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Another thing to check - make sure your bank account info was entered 100% correctly in the ESD system. I've seen cases where people had a single digit wrong in their account number, and the payment bounced back to ESD. When that happens, they have to reissue the payment, which adds another week to the process. Login to eServices and verify your direct deposit information right away.
Has anyone mentioned that if you go ahead and quit this job you should do it BEFORE hitting the 680 hour mark in your base year??? Those hours carry over to your next claim period and if u quit without good cause you lose them!!!
That's a good point about hours potentially being lost if there's a disqualification, but the concern about the specific 680 hour mark isn't quite accurate. \n\nWashington's minimum qualifying hours for a valid claim is 680 hours in your base year, but all hours worked in the base period count toward benefit calculation regardless of how many there are. There's no benefit to quitting before hitting a specific number of hours - what matters is the determination about whether the quit was for good cause.
Sometimes if you email your state representative they can help speed things up. I was waiting for weeks after winning my appeal and nothing was happening. I emailed my district rep, her office contacted ESD, and suddenly my payments appeared three days later. Worth a try if it drags on too long.
UPDATE: Just wanted to let everyone know that I got my backpay! It took exactly 17 days from when I received the appeal decision. I did call ESD twice during that time - first call they just said it was "in process" but after the second call it seemed to move faster. Thanks everyone for your advice and support!
dont forget to keep doing ur weekly claims even while waiting for the initial claim to process!!!! i messed up and missed 2 weeks of filing while waiting for my claim to be approved and they wouldnt let me backfile those weeks even tho my claim was still pending!!
One more tax tip since we're on the subject: When you do start receiving unemployment benefits, remember that the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits are NO LONGER tax-free at the federal level. That was a one-time exception for 2020 during COVID. For 2024 and 2025, all unemployment benefits are fully taxable as income. Many people don't realize this and end up with a surprise tax bill.
Great point. The $10,200 exclusion was specifically for tax year 2020 only. Now all unemployment compensation is fully taxable at the federal level, though some states don't tax it at the state level. Washington residents don't need to worry about state income tax, but federal taxes still apply to 100% of unemployment benefits received.
Carmen Diaz
Yes I did win! They decided it wasn't misconduct just regular attendance issues. I got the decision in the mail about 10 days after the hearing but it also showed up in my eServices account after about a week.
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Nia Thompson
One last piece of advice: prepare a concise opening and closing statement for your hearing. About 2-3 minutes each, focusing on:\n\n1. Your work history (3 years, previously good performance)\n2. The timeline of when problems began (coinciding with new manager)\n3. Your attempts to meet changing expectations\n4. Why the \
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