Update: My payment just came through this morning (Thursday)! Looks like everyone was right about the holiday delay. Thanks for helping me not panic!

FYI for anyone who finds this thread in the future - I've been on UI for about 5 months now, and I've noticed this pattern: If there's a Monday holiday: Payment usually arrives Thursday If there's a Friday holiday: Usually no delay Multi-day holiday periods (like Christmas/New Year): Can delay payments by 2-3 days Just sharing so others can plan ahead better than I did initially!

I had this same problem for 5 weeks back in January. Turned out there was a flag on my account because my previous employer contested my claim but ESD never sent me any notification. The only way I found out was by finally getting through to someone on the phone. Once I talked to them, they moved my case to adjudication and I eventually got backpay for all the weeks, but it took almost 2 months total. Did you check your spam folder? Sometimes their emails end up there. Also, did you verify your identity through ID.me? That's another common holdup.

UPDATE: I finally got through to ESD this morning! Used the Claimyr service that someone recommended above and it worked great. Turns out there was an employer response issue that never showed up in my online account. They've now moved my claim to adjudication and said I should see some movement within 1-2 weeks. The agent also approved provisional payments while they review my case, so I should get some money by next week. Thank you to everyone who helped!

Someone posted about this on reddit too - they said ESD is SUPER picky about the photos. Like all 4 corners of each document have to be visible and they need to see your face clearly holding them. Its stupid but after you get it right they process things pretty fast.

UPDATE: I finally got this sorted! For anyone dealing with the same issue - I ended up using my bank statement (which worked fine) and had my daughter take the photo while I held everything up. They approved my verification in 4 days. What a relief! Thanks to everyone who offered advice.

A trick that worked for me with ReliaCard: when you call and get the automated system, instead of selecting options, just don't press anything at all. After about 45 seconds of silence, many automated systems will transfer you to a human. Also, saying "representative" repeatedly sometimes triggers a transfer to a live person. Good luck!

Just wanted to follow up - were you able to get through to ReliaCard? Another option I forgot to mention is that you can also visit any US Bank branch in person if you're still having trouble with phone support. Bring your ReliaCard and ID, and they can usually help with most account issues right there.

my cousing tried to get TB back in December and her claim got stuck in adjutication for like 2 months!!! she called every week and nobody could tell her when it would be approved. finally she just gave up and took a retail job. the whole system is broken honestly.

GOOD NEWS! My Training Benefits application just got approved much faster than expected! Only took 2 weeks instead of the 5-7 weeks they said. A few things that I think helped speed things up: 1) I had my school send the curriculum and enrollment details directly to ESD, 2) My WorkSource advisor marked my case as a priority like someone suggested here, and 3) I included labor market research showing 200+ job openings in my area for people with this certification. Thanks everyone for your advice - it really helped me navigate this process!

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

Since you're in a financial bind while waiting, have you looked into: 1. Requesting hardship assistance through DSHS? 2. Applying for temporary assistance programs like TANF if you have children? 3. Food benefits through Basic Food/SNAP? 4. Local community emergency assistance funds? Many people don't realize there are bridge programs designed to help during gaps like this. While they won't replace full unemployment benefits, they can help keep you afloat during the waiting period.

THE MOST INFURIATING THING about this whole process is how they expect people to survive for MONTHS with no income while they take their sweet time making decisions!!! The system is DELIBERATELY slow to force people to give up and take any terrible job they can find. It's not right!!! And for everyone saying "just call ESD" - HAHAHA! What a joke. It's easier to get tickets to Taylor Swift than to talk to an actual human at ESD. I spent entire DAYS hitting redial.

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.

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?

UPDATE: I finally got through using that Claimyr service someone mentioned! The ESD agent was super understanding and rescheduled my interview for next week. She also explained the 'processing web' status - apparently it's normal when you first report earnings and doesn't mean I won't get paid. She said my payment should arrive tomorrow, just 1 day later than usual. Thanks everyone for the advice and support! I was having a complete meltdown this morning thinking I was going to lose my benefits.

That's great news! I'm glad you were able to get it resolved. For future reference, whenever your payment status changes or you report earnings for the first time, it's normal to see processing delays. ESD needs to manually verify the first instance of part-time work for most claims. Once you've reported part-time work a few times, the process usually becomes more streamlined. Also, keep in mind that you can work part-time and still receive partial unemployment benefits as long as you don't exceed your weekly benefit amount in earnings. Always report all hours and earnings accurately - even small errors can trigger lengthy adjudication processes.

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!