I went through something very similar earlier this year and wanted to share my experience. I had a lump sum severance that wasn't tied to specific weeks, and I followed the same approach everyone's recommending here - answered NO to the severance question until I actually received the payment. One thing I'll add is to keep documentation of your severance agreement once you sign it. When I reported my lump sum payment in the week I received it, ESD asked me to upload a copy of the agreement to verify it wasn't allocated to specific time periods. Having it ready made the process much smoother. Also, don't stress too much about the exact category when reporting it as income - there's usually an "other income" or "severance" option that works fine. The important thing is just being honest about receiving the money during that specific week. You're handling this the right way by asking questions upfront rather than guessing!

I just wanted to add one more thing that helped me when I was in a similar situation - if you're still unsure about anything after following all this great advice, you can also check with your former employer's HR department. They usually have experience with how their severance packages interact with unemployment claims and can sometimes provide clarification on whether your specific payment structure is tied to post-employment periods or not. In my case, HR was actually able to provide a letter stating that my severance was a lump sum payment for signing the separation agreement and wasn't allocated to any specific weeks after termination. Having that documentation gave me extra peace of mind when filing my claims. Also, just want to echo what others have said - definitely keep filing your weekly claims even during the week you might not receive benefits due to the severance payment. Missing even one week can cause unnecessary complications with your claim status. Good luck with everything! It sounds like you're being really thoughtful about handling this correctly.

Update us when you hear something! I'm in a similar situation and curious how long it ends up taking for you.

I'm in almost the exact same situation - filed about 2.5 weeks ago after being laid off from my retail job and still showing pending status. Reading through all these responses is actually really reassuring that this timeline seems pretty normal. I've been doing my weekly claims religiously and checking my account obsessively like some of you mentioned. The stress about bills is real though! Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it helps to know we're not alone in this waiting game.

The whole system seems so complicated. I wish Washington ESD would just send you a simple breakdown of exactly what you qualify for instead of making you figure it all out.

Thanks everyone for all the detailed info! This is exactly what I was looking for. It sounds like with my salary I should qualify for close to the maximum $999 weekly benefit, which would really help while I'm job searching. I'm definitely going to set up direct deposit right away and make sure to file my weekly claims on time. The tax withholding tip is really valuable too - I'll elect to have the 10% federal taxes taken out so I don't get hit with a big bill later. Now I just need to get through the initial application process and hope my former employer doesn't contest it!

After struggling with this same issue, I finally got through using a combination of methods: 1. I used Claimyr (saw it mentioned above) which actually worked to get me in the phone queue 2. When I finally spoke to an agent, I asked specifically for a callback number in case we got disconnected 3. I had ALL my information ready - claim ID, dates of employment, last employer contact info 4. I requested the agent make notes on my account about our conversation It took some persistence, but I finally got my claim moved from adjudication to approved. The key was getting that first person-to-person contact. Once you have a real human looking at your claim, things move much faster.

I've been dealing with this exact same nightmare for over a month now. What finally worked for me was a combination of persistence and timing. I started calling at 7:58 AM every day and would redial continuously for the first 30 minutes they're open. On day 12 of doing this, I finally got through! The agent told me that their phone system can only handle a certain number of calls at once, so if you don't get in that initial wave right at 8 AM, you're basically out of luck for the day. She also mentioned that they have the most staff available Tuesday-Thursday, so avoid calling on Mondays and Fridays if possible. Once I got through, my "pending" status was resolved in literally 10 minutes - turns out they just needed me to verify one piece of information that could have been handled weeks ago if their system wasn't so broken. Hang in there everyone, it's incredibly frustrating but don't give up!

Quick update on the adjudication process based on recent changes: ESD has actually modified their notification system in 2025. You should be receiving an automated alert in your eServices account explaining the general category of the adjudication issue, even if not the specific details. If you're not seeing this, it could indicate a technical problem with your account. I'd recommend checking that your contact information is up-to-date in the system, and also try accessing your account from a different browser or device to see if the alert shows up. Sometimes the eServices portal has display issues with certain browsers.

I'm going through the exact same thing right now - filed my claim 2 weeks ago after being laid off from my retail job and it's been in adjudication ever since. Like you, I haven't gotten any clear explanation about what they're investigating. It's really frustrating because I need these benefits to pay rent and groceries while I'm job hunting. Reading through these comments has been super helpful though! I'm going to check for that notification dot that @Yara Khalil mentioned and also try calling early in the morning like @Amina Toure suggested. At least now I know this is happening to a lot of people and it's not necessarily because I did something wrong on my application. Thanks for starting this thread - it's reassuring to know I'm not alone in this situation!