Can't reach Washington Unemployment? Claimyr connects you to a live ESD agent in minutes.
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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
If I could give 10 stars I would
If I could give 10 stars I would If I could give 10 stars I would Such an amazing service so needed during the times when EDD almost never picks up Claimyr gets me on the phone with EDD every time without fail faster. A much needed service without Claimyr I would have never received the payment I needed to support me during my postpartum recovery. Thank you so much Claimyr!
Really made a difference
Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
Worth not wasting your time calling for hours.
Was a bit nervous or untrusting at first, but my calls went thru. First time the wait was a bit long but their customer chat line on their page was helpful and put me at ease that I would receive my call. Today my call dropped because of EDD and Claimyr heard my concern on the same chat and another call was made within the hour.
An incredibly helpful service
An incredibly helpful service! Got me connected to a CA EDD agent without major hassle (outside of EDD's agents dropping calls – which Claimyr has free protection for). If you need to file a new claim and can't do it online, pay the $ to Claimyr to get the process started. Absolutely worth it!
Consistent,frustration free, quality Service.
Used this service a couple times now. Before I'd call 200 times in less than a weak frustrated as can be. But using claimyr with a couple hours of waiting i was on the line with an representative or on hold. Dropped a couple times but each reconnected not long after and was mission accomplished, thanks to Claimyr.
IT WORKS!! Not a scam!
I tried for weeks to get thru to EDD PFL program with no luck. I gave this a try thinking it may be a scam. OMG! It worked and They got thru within an hour and my claim is going to finally get paid!! I upgraded to the $60 call. Best $60 spent!
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 :)
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Final summary for anyone reading this later: Washington ESD unemployment includes both total and partial unemployment. You can qualify for benefits if your work hours or wages are reduced involuntarily, even if you're still working. Key requirements are having sufficient wages in your base period, being able and available for work, and actively seeking employment. The specific definition is in Washington Administrative Code if you want the legal details.
This thread should be pinned. Great explanation of Washington ESD unemployment definitions.
Glad we could help clarify things. The unemployment system is confusing enough without misunderstanding the basic definitions.
Just wanted to add that Washington ESD also considers "constructive discharge" as unemployment in some cases. This is when working conditions become so unreasonable that you're essentially forced to quit - like if your employer drastically changes your job duties, cuts your pay significantly, or creates a hostile work environment. It's still considered involuntary unemployment even though you technically quit. This might be relevant for people who think they don't qualify because they left their job voluntarily. The key is proving the employer's actions made continuing work unreasonable.
That's really important information about constructive discharge! I had no idea that could still count as involuntary unemployment with Washington ESD. It makes sense though - if an employer makes your job impossible to keep, that's not really your choice to leave. Do you know how hard it is to prove constructive discharge? It seems like it would be your word against the employer's in most cases.
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This is such a great success story! I'm currently in a similar situation where I have a job offer but won't start for several weeks. Seeing that you got it all sorted out with the standby status gives me hope that the process can actually work smoothly when done correctly. Thanks for sharing the update - it's really helpful to see the full resolution of these kinds of situations!
Yes, definitely follow Emma's example! I was in a similar spot last month and made the mistake of not reporting my job offer right away because I was scared they'd cut my benefits. When I finally did report it (after getting advice here), everything went smoothly and I kept getting benefits until my start date. The key is being upfront and accurate with the dates. Good luck with your situation!
This whole thread is incredibly helpful! I'm just starting my job search after being laid off last month, so it's good to know the process for when I hopefully find something. Emma, congratulations on landing the position - 4 months of searching must have been really stressful. It's reassuring to see that ESD actually handled this correctly when you reported everything properly with the future start date. I'm definitely saving this thread for reference!
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Just wanted to follow up and say I finally managed to get through this morning after trying the 1:30pm Tuesday suggestion. Waited on hold for 1 hour and 45 minutes, but at least they didn't hang up on me this time. The agent was actually helpful once I got through and explained that my claim needed additional wage verification which is why it was stuck. They're sending me a form to fill out, so hopefully it gets resolved soon.
That's encouraging! I'm going to try calling at that time tomorrow. Fingers crossed I'll have the same luck. Thanks for the update.
I'm dealing with this exact same nightmare right now! Been trying to call for over 2 weeks about my pending claim and getting nowhere. Reading through all these suggestions gives me some hope though. I'm definitely going to try the Tuesday 1:30pm time slot that Lucas mentioned, and I'm also going to contact my state rep's office tomorrow morning. It's ridiculous that we have to jump through so many hoops just to get basic help with our claims, but at least now I have some actual strategies to try instead of just randomly calling and getting hung up on. Thanks everyone for sharing what's worked for you - this community is more helpful than ESD's actual customer service!
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One more thing - if you do get your online access disabled, make sure you keep records of your unemployment history somewhere else. You might need it for mortgage applications or other financial stuff later.
Good point! I should download my payment history and claim details before I disable anything.
Yes definitely do that. You can get copies later but it's easier while you still have online access.
Final thought - you could also contact the Washington State Privacy Office if you want more information about your rights regarding personal data held by state agencies. They might have more detailed info about data retention and deletion policies.
That's really helpful information about the Privacy Office! I had no idea there was a dedicated office for this kind of thing. It sounds like they might be able to give me a clearer picture of what my actual rights are versus what ESD is just choosing to do as their standard practice.
Thanks for mentioning the Privacy Office! I'll definitely reach out to them too. It would be good to know if there's any difference between what ESD is legally required to keep versus what they're just choosing to keep. Maybe they can also clarify if there are any situations where full deletion might be possible.
Fatima Al-Mazrouei
Keep us updated on what you decide to do. I'm in a similar boat and interested to hear what works.
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Anastasia Smirnova
•Will do. Going to try the Claimyr thing first since several people here had success with it, then pursue other options if that doesn't work.
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Kaiya Rivera
I'm going through something similar - my claim has been stuck since November and I've lost count of how many times I've called. Reading through all these responses, it sounds like the legal route might not be the fastest solution for getting immediate relief. I'm curious about this Claimyr service that several people mentioned - has anyone else here used it recently? Also wondering if anyone has had luck with the state auditor complaint process that was mentioned. At this point I'm willing to try multiple approaches simultaneously since I can't afford to wait much longer.
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Diego Castillo
•I haven't used Claimyr myself but based on what others are saying here, it seems like it might be worth trying if you're desperate to get through. As for the state auditor route, I filed a complaint about a month ago regarding similar processing delays and got an acknowledgment email, but no real action yet. Have you tried reaching out to multiple state representatives? Sometimes casting a wider net helps - I contacted both my house rep and senator's offices. The key seems to be being persistent with follow-ups since they get tons of requests.
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Elin Robinson
•I used Claimyr about 3 weeks ago when my claim got stuck in identity verification limbo. Was skeptical at first because it felt weird paying someone to call a government agency, but honestly it was worth every penny. They got me connected within about 6 hours and the ESD agent was able to resolve my identity issue immediately - turned out they just needed a clearer photo of my driver's license. The whole call took maybe 15 minutes once connected. Cost me around $40 but considering I was about to lose my car payment, it was a no-brainer. Just make sure you have all your documents ready before they call you back so you can resolve everything in one shot.
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