The benefit amount calculator is pretty straightforward once you understand it. Take your highest quarter earnings, divide by 13, then multiply by 0.5. That gives you a rough estimate of your weekly benefit before hitting any caps.

I just went through this process last month after getting laid off from my construction job. With Washington ESD, your weekly benefit is calculated using your highest earning quarter from your "base period" (the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters). They take that quarter's wages, divide by 13 weeks, then you get roughly 50% of that amount. So if you made $11,700 in your highest quarter, that's $900/week average, and you'd get around $450 weekly in benefits. The minimum is $295/week and maximum is $999/week for 2025. Make sure to apply online through SecureAccess Washington - it's much faster than calling. Also remember there's a one-week waiting period before you get your first payment, so budget for that gap.

UPDATE: IT WORKED!!! Two things fixed it for me: 1. What @helpful_user5 suggested about going directly to the main SAW site first instead of through the ESD portal 2. Turning off my VPN as @techsavvy2 mentioned I'm finally in and was able to file my weekly claim with a day to spare. THANK YOU everyone for the suggestions! For anyone else having this problem, definitely try these steps before tearing your hair out like I did!

So glad you got it working! This is exactly why I love this community - everyone jumping in with different solutions until we find what works. I've bookmarked this thread because I have a feeling I'm going to need these troubleshooting steps myself at some point. The SAW system can be so finicky, but at least now we have a solid playbook for when it acts up. Thanks for updating us with what actually worked - that's super helpful for the next person who runs into this issue!

UPDATE: I got through to ESD! For anyone who has this problem in the future - keep calling and try the WorkSource suggestion. The agent said they could see I was trying to correct an honest mistake. They canceled today's claim submission and I was able to refile it with the correct hours right away. Thank you all for your help and suggestions!

This is such a relief to read! I'm dealing with a similar situation right now where I accidentally double-counted some hours from a side gig. Your post gives me hope that ESD will understand it was an honest mistake. Did they ask you for any documentation when you called, or were they able to see from your account history that it was clearly an error? I'm preparing to call tomorrow morning and want to have everything ready.

Good luck! From what I've seen, Washington ESD is usually reasonable about backdate requests when there's a legitimate reason like not understanding the weekly filing requirement. Just be honest and thorough in your explanation.

I went through this exact same situation last year and can offer some hope! I missed 4 weeks because the website made it seem like weekly filing was optional after approval. Here's what worked for me: I submitted a backdate request through the secure messaging system explaining that the instructions weren't clear to me as a first-time claimant. I included a timeline of when I filed my initial claim, when I realized my mistake, and when I started filing weekly. They approved it in about 3 weeks and I got all my back pay. The key is being honest about the confusion and showing you're now complying with weekly filing. Don't give up - they deal with this situation more often than you'd think!

Just to add an important detail - if you do return to work, make sure to report your work and earnings on your weekly claim for the week you start working, even if you haven't been paid yet. You report based on when you performed the work, not when you receive payment. This avoids potential overpayment issues later. Also, if you return part-way through a week, you may still be eligible for partial benefits for that week depending on how many hours you work and how much you earn. The ESD system will calculate this automatically based on what you report.

One thing to consider beyond the unemployment benefits - if you do go back, try to get the job offer in writing with details about the raise and any other changes. Since they already let you go once due to "performance issues" that apparently weren't actually your fault, you'll want some documentation about the new terms. Also might be worth asking about job security or what's changed to prevent this from happening again. The unemployment benefit situation sounds like it'll work out fine based on what others have said, but protecting yourself going forward is important too.