Thanks everyone for the helpful information! I'm feeling better prepared now. Sounds like I should expect something in about 2 weeks, but should be ready to proactively contact ESD if I win and don't see payments starting. Really appreciate all the insights and shared experiences. This whole unemployment process has been so much more complicated than I expected.

Hope your decision comes through quickly! I just went through this process last month and got my letter in exactly 12 days. One thing I wish someone had told me - even if you win, make sure to keep filing your weekly claims while waiting for ESD to process the judge's order. I stopped filing thinking it would automatically restart and that delayed my payments by another week when I had to call and get it sorted out. The whole system is confusing but hang in there!

The key thing is to stay on top of your weekly claims and keep documenting everything. Take screenshots of your claim status and payment history in case you need to reference them later.

I went through this exact same situation about 6 months ago. After my claim was approved, it took exactly 5 business days to see the payment hit my account via direct deposit. The key thing that helped speed it up was making sure I had completed all my work search activities correctly and filed my weekly claim immediately after approval. If you don't see anything by next Wednesday, I'd definitely recommend calling or using one of those callback services people mentioned. Also, check that there aren't any outstanding issues in your account - sometimes there can be a small flag that's not immediately obvious that's holding up payment processing.

I've seen people get approved for unemployment after being fired for all kinds of performance issues - not meeting sales goals, being too slow, making mistakes, etc. As long as you weren't doing it on purpose or violating company policies, you should be fine.

You should definitely file for unemployment benefits. Performance-related terminations are generally not considered misconduct under Washington law. I was in a similar situation last year - got let go from a manufacturing job for not meeting production targets despite genuinely trying my best. Washington ESD approved my claim without any issues. The key distinction is that you weren't fired for willful misconduct (like stealing, insubordination, or intentionally not doing your job), but rather for not being able to meet the performance standards. Eight months of employment also shows you were making a good faith effort. File your claim as soon as possible since benefits are backdated to your filing date, not your termination date. Be honest about the reason for termination when filling out the application, and emphasize that you were making every effort to meet expectations. Good luck!

The bottom line is file your weekly claims as long as you're unemployed and stop when you start full-time work. If you work part-time, keep filing but report all hours and wages. Simple as that.

Another thing to keep in mind - if you're starting work on Monday, make sure you don't accidentally file for that week out of habit. I'd recommend setting a reminder on your phone or calendar to NOT file once you start working full-time. It's easy to forget when you've been doing it every week for 2 months. Also, Washington ESD sometimes sends automated reminders to file, so just ignore those once you're employed. Better to be extra careful than deal with overpayment headaches later!

Been working part time while on unemployment for 6 weeks now and haven't had any issues. The key is just being consistent and accurate with your reporting. Washington ESD's system handles it pretty smoothly once you get in the routine.

This is really encouraging to read through everyone's experiences! I'm in a similar situation where I might have the opportunity to pick up some freelance work while collecting benefits. From what I'm understanding, the main things to remember are: 1) Always report ALL work and earnings on your weekly claim, 2) Report gross earnings not net, 3) Report for the week you actually worked not when you got paid, 4) Keep detailed records of everything, and 5) Continue your job search activities. The $5 disregard plus gradual reduction actually makes it worthwhile to take part-time work. Thanks for all the detailed explanations - this community is so helpful for navigating Washington ESD!