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Congratulations on landing the new job! Based on what everyone's shared here, it sounds like you have a solid plan. Just to summarize the key points: file your final weekly claim, report your new employment on that claim, and then you're all set. Washington ESD will automatically close your claim after a few weeks of inactivity. Keep documentation of your last filing date and job start date just in case. The system is pretty straightforward once you know the right steps. Good luck with your new position!
Thanks everyone for all the helpful info! I feel much more confident about navigating the Washington ESD website now. You guys are lifesavers.
Just wanted to add - when you're creating your SAW account, make sure to use an email address you check regularly. Washington ESD sends important notifications about your claim status, payment issues, and required actions through email. I missed a critical message once because I used an old email address and it caused a delay in my benefits. Also, keep your phone number updated in your profile since they sometimes send text alerts too.
Update: Thanks everyone for all the suggestions! I ended up using Claimyr like several people recommended and finally got through to resolve my standby status question. Turns out I don't need to do job search activities while I'm waiting for my union callback. Could have saved weeks of stress if I'd been able to reach them sooner but at least it's sorted now!
I've been having the same exact problem for the past month! The phone system is completely broken. I tried calling at 8:00 AM sharp every day this week and either get a busy signal immediately or sit on hold for 3+ hours just to get disconnected. It's incredibly frustrating when you have legitimate questions about your claim but can't reach anyone. The online portal doesn't cover specific situations like standby status or adjudication issues. At this point I'm seriously considering that Claimyr service people have mentioned - spending money to get through to a phone system I'm already entitled to use feels wrong, but I'm running out of options.
One more thing about calling Washington ESD - if you do get through and they say they need additional documentation, ask them to email you the specific list of what they need. Sometimes they'll ask for documents over the phone but then you're not sure exactly what format they want. Getting it in writing saves you from having to call back multiple times.
I went through something similar last year - filed in October and didn't see my first payment until mid-December. It turned out my former employer had provided incorrect information about my separation date, which created a discrepancy that needed manual review. The frustrating part is that Washington ESD doesn't proactively tell you what the specific issue is - you have to call to find out. In my case, once I got through to someone and they identified the problem, it was resolved within a week. The good news is that when it finally processes, you'll get all the back payments for the weeks you've been waiting, so you won't lose any money, just the timing. Keep doing those weekly claims no matter what - that's crucial for getting your back pay.
Chad Winthrope
Any luck getting through? Been thinking about your situation and hoping you found a solution!
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Ellie Lopez
•I tried the 8am Tuesday call with the suggested menu options and actually got through after about a 40-minute wait! The agent was able to see that my claim had an identity verification flag that wasn't showing up in my online portal. She cleared it and said my payments should process within 48 hours. Thank you all for the helpful suggestions - I wouldn't have known what to do otherwise!
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Nina Fitzgerald
•Great news! Make sure you keep filing your weekly claims on time while you're waiting for that payment to process. And save the agent's name and ID number if they gave you one - always good to have that reference if you need to call back about the same issue.
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Ravi Choudhury
So glad you were able to get through and get your issue resolved! That identity verification flag is such a common problem that doesn't show up properly in the online portal - it's like they designed the system to hide important information from claimants. 40 minutes on hold is actually pretty good for ESD standards! For anyone else reading this thread, Ellie's success story shows that the Tuesday morning strategy really does work. The key seems to be persistence and timing. Also want to echo what Nina said about keeping track of agent names/reference numbers - ESD has a habit of "losing" records of previous calls, so documentation is your friend. Hope your payments come through quickly and you can get caught up on your bills!
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