Can I cancel my unemployment claim online through Washington ESD?

You don't actually 'cancel' a claim in Washington ESD - you just stop filing your weekly claims. Once you stop filing, your claim becomes inactive after a few weeks. The claim stays open for a year in case you need to restart it, but you won't receive any benefits if you're not filing weekly.

I had the same confusion when I got hired! The Washington ESD system doesn't have a big red 'cancel claim' button anywhere. I spent forever looking for it on the secure portal.

If you want to be 100% sure, you can try calling Washington ESD to confirm, but honestly their phone system is impossible to get through. I tried calling for weeks about a different issue and kept getting busy signals or hung up on. There's actually a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you get through to ESD agents - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Might be worth checking out if you really want to talk to someone.

Just make sure you file your final weekly claim correctly! If you worked any days during that last week before your new job started full-time, you need to report those hours and wages. Don't leave it blank or put zero if you actually worked.

Congrats on the new job! I've been on unemployment for 8 weeks now and still looking. The weekly claims are such a pain but at least the system is pretty straightforward once you get used to it.

One thing to remember - even though you're stopping your claim, keep all your unemployment paperwork for tax purposes. You'll get a 1099-G form next January for any benefits you received this year.

I'm in a similar situation - got a job offer but haven't started yet. Should I keep filing weekly claims until my actual start date, or stop now?

The Washington ESD website really could be clearer about this process. I remember being confused about the same thing. There's no obvious 'close claim' option anywhere in the secure portal.

If anyone else is having trouble reaching Washington ESD by phone for claim questions, I mentioned Claimyr earlier but wanted to add - they're really helpful when you have specific questions about your claim status or need to resolve issues. Much easier than trying to get through on your own.

Thanks everyone! Sounds like I just need to stop filing weekly claims after I properly report my final week. Really appreciate all the advice about keeping records and the tax forms too.