


Ask the community...
Thanks everyone for all the helpful responses. This thread should be pinned for people who are new to unemployment.
And remember, if you do need to talk to someone at Washington ESD about your specific situation, don't waste hours trying to get through on the phone. Services like Claimyr really do work for getting connected to an actual person who can help.
Just saw this thread and wanted to add that I finally got approved after 7 weeks. Turned out my previous employer initially contested the claim but then withdrew their objection. Never got any notification about the contest until I specifically asked about it.
good luck with your claim! the whole process is stressful but most people do end up getting benefits if they were fired for performance stuff rather than actual misconduct
Just to summarize for anyone else reading this: getting fired doesn't automatically disqualify you from unemployment benefits in Washington. The key factors are whether the termination was for misconduct (willful violations, theft, etc.) versus performance issues or other non-misconduct reasons. Always file your claim promptly and be honest about the circumstances.
Just to circle back on getting through to ESD if you need to - I used Claimyr last month when I couldn't reach them about my claim and it worked perfectly. Saved me probably 20+ hours of trying to call manually.
Final thought - when you present your findings, it might be worth contextualizing against teen unemployment during the 2008 recession to show how COVID compared to other major economic disruptions.
Freya Pedersen
Final thought - if you do end up needing to file, try to do it early in the week and early in the day. The system tends to be less busy and you might have better luck getting through if you need help.
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NebulaKnight
•Great tip! I'll remember that timing advice.
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Omar Hassan
•Tuesday mornings around 8am seem to work best in my experience.
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Chloe Anderson
This thread has been really informative! Saving it for future reference just in case.
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NebulaKnight
•Same here! Thanks to everyone who shared their knowledge and experiences.
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Diego Vargas
•Hope you don't need it but good to be prepared!
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