This is such a comprehensive thread - you all have covered pretty much every aspect of filing for unemployment after contract work! As someone who's been doing contract work in Washington for about 3 years, I can confirm everything everyone has said. The process really is straightforward for W-2 contract workers. One small addition - if you worked for multiple staffing agencies or had overlapping contracts during your base period, don't worry about trying to calculate everything yourself. Washington ESD's system will pull all your wage records automatically once you file. I made the mistake of trying to manually enter every single contract detail my first time filing, but they handle all the wage verification behind the scenes. Just focus on accurately describing your most recent work and why it ended. The system is actually pretty well-designed for our type of work situation!

I'm in a really similar situation as well - my tech contract ended about a month ago and I was hesitant to file because I thought there might be complications with it being temporary work. But after reading through everyone's experiences here, I just submitted my application yesterday! The whole process was actually much more straightforward than I expected. For anyone still on the fence - definitely don't wait like I did. I wish I had filed right when my contract ended instead of overthinking it for weeks. The Washington ESD system really does seem well-equipped to handle contract worker situations. Already feeling more optimistic about this whole transition period between contracts.

Thanks for posting this question - I had no idea that legacy technology was such a big factor in unemployment processing delays. Makes me feel less like the system is personally targeting me.

As someone who's been through this frustration myself, I can confirm that legacy system issues are a major factor in Washington ESD delays. I spent weeks wondering if I had done something wrong with my application, only to find out later that my claim required manual review because I had worked in multiple states. The old system simply couldn't automatically process cross-state employment history. What helped me was finally understanding that "pending adjudication" often just means the legacy system kicked your case to a human reviewer - it's not necessarily a red flag about your eligibility. The technology limitations are real, and unfortunately we're all dealing with the consequences while waiting for modernization that seems perpetually "in progress.

This is such a valuable thread for anyone dealing with UI payment anxiety! I'm about 2 months into claiming and had my first "late" deposit scare last week - mine usually comes around 6am but didn't show up until almost 3pm that day. I was literally refreshing my ReliaCard app every 5 minutes until I found a thread similar to this one. What really helped me was realizing that "paid" status on ESD means the money is definitely coming, it's just a matter of when all the banking systems sync up. I also started checking the ESD website first thing in the morning instead of my card balance - if it says paid, I know I can relax and just wait for the deposit notification. For anyone still waiting on today's payment - hang in there! Based on all these experiences, it sounds like same-day delivery is pretty much guaranteed once you see that "paid" status, even if the timing varies wildly.

I'm going through this exact situation right now too! It's my third week claiming and this is the first time my deposit is running late. Usually hits my ReliaCard around 3:45am but it's now past noon and still nothing, even though ESD shows "paid" status. Reading through everyone's experiences here is incredibly reassuring - I had no idea the timing could vary so much! I've been checking my card balance obsessively since I woke up, but now I feel much better knowing this is totally normal. Definitely going to set up those ReliaCard text alerts that @Max Reyes mentioned, and I love the idea of screenshotting the "paid" status for peace of mind. Also seriously considering switching to direct deposit after reading about how much more consistent the timing is. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this community is amazing for helping newcomers like me understand what to expect with UI benefits!

Bottom line - pretty much all your regular compensation is subject to unemployment tax up to the wage base limit. If your employer is being sketchy about explaining it, that's concerning and you should probably look into it further.

Just wanted to add that if you're having ongoing issues with your employer not properly explaining wage deductions, you might want to check if they're also correctly handling the employer portion of unemployment taxes. Employees pay into the system, but employers pay a much larger share - and if they're not handling your portion correctly, they might not be handling theirs either. This could affect your benefit eligibility later on. You can actually request wage and tax records from Washington ESD to verify what your employer has been reporting on your behalf.

I'm in Washington state too and dealt with this exact situation about 6 months ago. The advice everyone's giving here is spot on - you absolutely must keep filing your weekly claims even while working the temp job. I made the mistake of skipping one week early on because I thought "well I'm working full time this week so why bother filing" and it created a gap that took 3 phone calls to fix. The Washington ESD rep told me that as long as you file consistently and report all your work honestly, your claim stays in "active" status even during $0 payment weeks. When my temp contract ended after 8 weeks, I just went back to filing normally and started receiving payments again with zero issues. The key is treating those work weeks like any other week - file on time, report everything accurately, and don't overthink it.

I just want to echo what everyone else has said and add that I went through this exact situation twice - once with a 6-week temp job and again with a 3-month contract position. Both times I kept filing my weekly claims religiously, reported every hour and dollar earned, and had zero problems transitioning back to regular unemployment payments when the work ended. The Washington ESD system actually handles this really well once you understand that working doesn't end your claim - it just temporarily reduces your benefits to $0 while keeping everything active in the background. The biggest mistake you can make is overthinking it or trying to "game" the system by not reporting work or skipping filings. Just be completely transparent about your temporary work situation and file every single week like clockwork. Your future self will thank you when you seamlessly resume benefits instead of having to navigate the nightmare of reapplying from scratch.