Last thought - if you do well with Uber and start making significant money, just remember you might reach a point where it makes more sense to focus on that full-time rather than continuing unemployment. Good problem to have though!

Just wanted to add that you should also keep track of your vehicle expenses like gas, maintenance, and mileage when doing Uber. While you can't deduct these from your unemployment reporting (you still report gross earnings), you'll need them for tax purposes at the end of the year. I use a mileage tracking app that automatically logs my trips which makes tax season much easier. Good luck with the gig work!

Congrats on getting approved! The relief when that adjudication finally ends is incredible. Your back pay should definitely come through automatically - just keep an eye on your account over the next few days.

Awesome news that it got approved! I went through something similar last year - 7 weeks in adjudication and was panicking about money the whole time. The back pay does come automatically, usually within 3-5 business days like others mentioned. One thing I learned though is to screenshot your weekly claim summaries showing all those weeks you filed during adjudication, just in case there's ever a question later about what you're owed. The system usually works correctly but having that backup documentation gave me peace of mind. Hope you get your money soon!

Last piece of advice - set up direct deposit for your paychecks if possible and keep digital copies of everything. Makes it much easier to calculate and report your earnings accurately each week when you file your claim.

Just wanted to add that you should also keep track of your work schedule changes week to week. I learned this the hard way when my part-time hours varied between 20-30 hours depending on the week. Washington ESD calculates your partial benefits based on each individual week's earnings, not an average. So if you work 20 hours one week and 30 the next, you'll get different partial benefit amounts each time. It's worth creating a simple spreadsheet to track your hours and expected earnings so you can report accurately when filing your weekly claims.

Anyone else notice how the ESD website gives ZERO clear information about this specific situation?? It's like they deliberately make everything confusing so they can deny claims later! I spent HOURS searching for an official policy about pausing training and found NOTHING!

I went through something very similar last year with my training benefits! I had to pause for a quarter due to a family emergency and was terrified they'd cancel everything. Here's what worked for me: 1. I called ESD directly (took forever to get through) and spoke with a training specialist who walked me through the "training interruption" process 2. They had me submit a formal request through eServices explaining my situation and expected return date 3. I provided documentation from my school showing my planned course sequence 4. They put a note in my file that I was on an approved temporary interruption The key thing the specialist told me was that as long as you're still within your overall training timeframe (sounds like you have plenty of time left in your 2-year period) and you have valid reasons, they'd rather work with you than have you drop out completely. I'd definitely recommend calling rather than just sending a message - the phone agents seemed more knowledgeable about the training interruption process than whoever handles the eServices messages. Good luck with your mental health journey too - taking care of yourself is the most important thing!

I used that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier when I couldn't get through to Washington ESD about my adjudication. Definitely helped me get the answers I needed instead of waiting weeks for a callback that never came.

I went through something similar last year - got terminated for "performance issues" but it was really just a way for them to downsize without calling it layoffs. I filed for unemployment right away and was approved after about 3 weeks of review. The key is being honest about what happened and providing any documentation that shows you were making a good faith effort to do your job. Washington ESD really does look at whether you were willfully negligent or just unable to meet unrealistic expectations. Don't let your employer scare you into not filing - they often make it sound worse than it is to discourage claims.