By the way, make sure you're properly documenting your job search activities each week! Even while waiting for initial claim approval, you need to be doing 3 job search activities weekly. ESD has been randomly auditing job search logs more frequently in 2025. My neighbor got disqualified for 4 weeks of benefits because he couldn't provide proper documentation when they audited him.

I went through this exact situation last year with my retail job. My employer missed the deadline by about 2 weeks, and ESD approved my claim based solely on my information. However, I'd recommend being extra careful about how you describe your separation - if there's any ambiguity between "layoff" and "termination for cause," ESD might still investigate even without employer input. Since you mentioned your boss was critical of your work before the restructuring, make sure you have that layoff documentation ready and emphasize the business reasons (restructuring/position elimination) rather than any performance issues. The good news is that most claims in this situation do get approved, especially if you were truthful about being laid off. Keep filing those weekly claims and stay patient - it took about 4 weeks total for mine to get approved back then.

One thing nobody told me - even in adjudication, you MUST keep filing weekly claims! I didn't know this and stopped filing while waiting for my adjudication to finish. When I finally got approved, I only got paid from the weeks I had actually filed claims for, not from my initial application date. Don't make my mistake!

I'm in a similar situation right now - filed 3 weeks ago after being laid off and my employer is definitely going to contest it. They're already claiming I had "attendance issues" even though I only missed work twice in 2 years due to actual illness. Reading through everyone's experiences here is both helpful and terrifying! From what I'm gathering, the key seems to be: file immediately, keep filing weekly claims no matter what, document everything, and prepare for a long wait if it goes to adjudication. I've been screenshotting my timecard records and saving all my performance emails just in case. Has anyone had success getting through ESD's phone lines during specific times of day? I've been trying to call in the mornings but no luck so far.

One other thing to consider - have you checked what your weekly benefit amount might be? The calculator on ESD's website is pretty accurate. Knowing that number can help with your budgeting while you wait for approval. Also don't forget that the first week is a waiting week (you don't get paid for it) so factor that into your calculations too.

I filed for unemployment in February after being laid off from my retail job, and my experience was somewhere in the middle of what everyone's describing here. It took about 3 weeks total to get my first payment, but that included one week where I had to provide additional documentation because my employer initially said I "quit" instead of acknowledging the layoff. The key thing that helped me was being super proactive. I called ESD every few days to check status, and when they said they needed more info, I uploaded everything within hours. I also kept detailed records of every conversation and reference number they gave me. One tip that might help - when you do your initial filing, take screenshots of every page and save confirmation numbers. My claim got "lost" in the system for a few days and having those screenshots helped the agent locate it quickly. Also, if you have direct deposit set up, payments come faster than waiting for a debit card to arrive in the mail. Hope your layoff goes more smoothly than expected, and definitely start gathering all that documentation now like others suggested!

Just wanted to circle back on the Claimyr suggestion from earlier - it's really useful if you need to talk to Washington ESD about anything specific to your situation. Sometimes it helps to speak with an actual person, especially for questions about work authorization documentation.

Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences here! Reading through all these responses has really put my mind at ease. It sounds like as long as I have my current EAD card and meet the standard eligibility requirements, I should be able to apply just like anyone else. I'm going to gather all my documents this week and submit my application. Really appreciate this supportive community - it's so helpful to hear from people who've actually been through the process rather than trying to figure it out from confusing government websites alone.

Quick update on timeframes since you asked: Once your employer submits the standby request properly, ESD typically processes it within 5-7 business days. Make sure your employer marks it as "Construction Industry" in the industry classification section - this is crucial for the 8-week approval. While waiting for approval, continue completing your job search activities. If approved, you'll receive a message in your ESD portal, and future weeks won't require job search activities. For previous weeks, they may waive the job search requirements retroactively, but don't count on it - better to have completed and logged them.

Just went through something similar myself! The key thing everyone's mentioning is absolutely right - your employer HAS to be the one to submit the standby request through their portal. I made the same mistake thinking a letter would be enough. Once my employer submitted it properly (took them about 10 minutes once they figured out where to go in their account), it got approved in about a week. The construction industry classification is super important for getting the full 8 weeks. Don't skip your job searches while waiting though - I learned that the hard way when they initially denied some of my weekly claims for incomplete activities. Good luck!