THIS!!! The system is DESIGNED to let employers get away with this garbage. They'll make you PROVE every little detail while just taking whatever BS the employer tells them at face value. It's so rigged against workers it's not even funny.

As someone who's dealt with ESD claims before, I want to emphasize that you should file ASAP and don't let Safeway's tactics discourage you. What they did - systematically reducing your hours from 2 days to 1 day to zero without notice - is textbook constructive dismissal. Make sure when you file that you clearly state you were "available and willing to work" but your employer eliminated your position. Also, since you mentioned the hostile work environment and safety concerns, document those too as they can support your case that this wasn't a voluntary separation. The fact that they gave your shift to another employee "to help her out" rather than offering you alternative hours shows this was their decision, not yours. Keep copies of everything - your work schedule, any emails or texts, and definitely that photo you took of the new schedule. ESD sees cases like this all the time, especially from grocery chains trying to avoid paying into the unemployment system.

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.

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.

This has been really helpful! I had no idea there were so many factors affecting Washington's unemployment numbers - from seasonal agriculture work to tech layoffs to regional differences. Makes me feel better that my 2-week claim wait is normal and not a sign that something's wrong. I'll definitely keep that Claimyr option in mind if I need to contact Washington ESD directly. Thanks everyone for breaking down the complexities behind the statistics!

The regional variation point is so important! I'm in Spokane and our unemployment patterns are totally different from Seattle. We have more government jobs and healthcare which tend to be stable, but when the mining or forestry industries have downturns it really shows up in the numbers. Plus our cost of living is lower so people might take different types of jobs here than they would in King County. It's really misleading to look at Washington as one uniform job market when eastern and western parts of the state have such different economies.