Can't reach Washington Unemployment? Claimyr connects you to a live ESD agent in minutes.
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Using Claimyr will:
- Connect you to a human agent at the ESD
- Skip the long phone menu
- Call the correct department
- Redial until on hold
- Forward a call to your phone with reduced hold time
- Give you free callbacks if the ESD drops your call
If I could give 10 stars I would
If I could give 10 stars I would If I could give 10 stars I would Such an amazing service so needed during the times when EDD almost never picks up Claimyr gets me on the phone with EDD every time without fail faster. A much needed service without Claimyr I would have never received the payment I needed to support me during my postpartum recovery. Thank you so much Claimyr!
Really made a difference
Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
Worth not wasting your time calling for hours.
Was a bit nervous or untrusting at first, but my calls went thru. First time the wait was a bit long but their customer chat line on their page was helpful and put me at ease that I would receive my call. Today my call dropped because of EDD and Claimyr heard my concern on the same chat and another call was made within the hour.
An incredibly helpful service
An incredibly helpful service! Got me connected to a CA EDD agent without major hassle (outside of EDD's agents dropping calls – which Claimyr has free protection for). If you need to file a new claim and can't do it online, pay the $ to Claimyr to get the process started. Absolutely worth it!
Consistent,frustration free, quality Service.
Used this service a couple times now. Before I'd call 200 times in less than a weak frustrated as can be. But using claimyr with a couple hours of waiting i was on the line with an representative or on hold. Dropped a couple times but each reconnected not long after and was mission accomplished, thanks to Claimyr.
IT WORKS!! Not a scam!
I tried for weeks to get thru to EDD PFL program with no luck. I gave this a try thinking it may be a scam. OMG! It worked and They got thru within an hour and my claim is going to finally get paid!! I upgraded to the $60 call. Best $60 spent!
Ask the community...
- DO post questions about your issues.
- DO answer questions and support each other.
- DO post tips & tricks to help folks.
- DO NOT post call problems here - there is a support tab at the top for that :)
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The whole appeals process took me about 6 months total - 3 months for the first appeal hearing, then another 3 months for the Board of Appeals. Be prepared for a long wait if you go all the way through.
Wow, 6 months is a long time to wait for benefits. Did you have to find other income during that time?
Yeah, had to take temporary work to survive. But when I finally won the appeal, I got all the back pay I was owed.
Just want to add that the Board of Appeals decision is final at the state level. After that your only option is federal court, which almost never happens for unemployment cases unless there are major constitutional issues.
Good to know. Sounds like the Board of Appeals is really my last realistic chance to win this case.
Exactly. Make sure you put everything you have into that Board appeal because it's your final shot.
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Pro tip: if you're still collecting unemployment this year, elect the 10% federal withholding option on your weekly claims to avoid a big tax bill next year.
Great advice! Better to get smaller payments than owe a lump sum later.
You can change your withholding election at any time through your weekly claim filing too.
Just remember that unemployment income can also affect your eligibility for certain tax credits like the earned income credit, so factor that in when filing.
Good point - unemployment income counts toward your AGI for all tax credit calculations.
I hadn't thought about how it might affect other parts of my tax return.
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The key thing is don't give up after the first denial. A lot of legitimate claims get denied initially and then approved on appeal. Washington ESD seems to deny first and ask questions later sometimes.
Thanks everyone for all the advice. I think I'm going to try calling them first to understand the denial better, then decide about appealing.
Good luck! And seriously consider using that Claimyr service if you can't get through. The Washington ESD phone system is brutal.
One more thing - if you do appeal, keep filing your weekly claims even while the appeal is pending. If you win, you'll get back pay for those weeks. If you don't file, you lose those weeks forever.
Nope, you should keep filing. It protects your right to those weeks if your appeal is successful.
This is correct. I learned this the hard way when I stopped filing during my appeal and lost 4 weeks of benefits.
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I'll keep that in mind if I need to reach them. Sounds like their phone system is pretty backed up.
Yeah it's terrible trying to get through normally. This service makes it actually manageable.
One last thing - make sure you understand the difference between being laid off vs being fired for cause. Layoffs are due to business reasons (budget cuts, restructuring, etc.) and qualify for UI. Getting fired for misconduct usually disqualifies you.
Yeah the layoffs at my company are definitely business related, not performance issues.
Ellie Lopez
Just wanted to add that standby claims work differently - you can potentially get benefits for longer if you're in approved standby status with your employer expecting to call you back.
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Elijah Knight
•Good point about standby! Those have different rules but still fall under the same 26 week maximum for the benefit year. Standby just means you don't have to do job search activities.
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Ellie Lopez
•Right, you still get the same duration, just different requirements while you're waiting to be called back to work.
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Chad Winthrope
Bottom line for anyone still confused: Washington state gives you UP TO 26 weeks depending on your work history. Higher previous wages = higher weekly payments but same maximum duration. No extensions currently available.
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Taylor Chen
•Perfect summary! Thanks everyone for all the helpful info. Now I know what to expect with my claim.
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Paige Cantoni
•Agreed, this thread was really helpful. Way better than trying to navigate the Washington ESD website.
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