Can I claim 1 week of unemployment during company's unpaid December furlough as a salaried employee?
Hey everyone, bit of a complicated situation here. I started my current job back in September after being laid off from my previous position in August. I already have an open unemployment claim from that August layoff. My new employer just dropped a bombshell - they're shutting down operations for the last week of December 2025 completely and calling it a "furlough." The kicker is we're not getting paid AND we're explicitly forbidden from working during that time. I'm a salaried exempt employee, so this seems weird to me. Two questions: 1. Can I claim that one week of unemployment on my existing open claim? 2. If I can file, do I submit the weekly claim the Sunday before the furlough week or the Sunday after it ends? Really need to figure this out since the holidays are already expensive enough without losing a week's pay! Thanks in advance for any help!
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StarStrider
ya u can claim for that 1 week since ur not getting paid and not allowed to work. its a temp layoff basically. u file the weekly claim after the week is over, so sunday after
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Zara Ahmed
•Thanks! So even though I'm a salaried employee, they can just not pay me for a week? Seems strange but I guess that's what a furlough is?
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Luca Esposito
Yes, you can claim for that week. This is technically a temporary layoff or reduction in hours to zero. Being salaried exempt doesn't prevent you from receiving unemployment during a full-week furlough where no work is performed. File your weekly claim on the Sunday AFTER the furlough week (when the week is complete). Make sure to report any holiday pay if you receive any for that week. Since you already have an existing claim open from August, you'll just reactivate it if it's currently inactive. Log into your eServices account, select "Restart my claim" and follow the prompts. And yes, for salaried exempt employees, under FLSA regulations, employers cannot reduce your salary for partial weeks worked, but they CAN reduce it for full weeks when no work is performed (like a furlough).
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Zara Ahmed
•Thank you for the detailed explanation! This helps a lot. I wasn't sure about the exempt employee rules. We're not getting any holiday pay that week, so should be straightforward.
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Nia Thompson
Wait wait wait. I dont think this is right. If your salaried EXEMPT they have to pay you your full salary no matter what. That's what exempt MEANS. They can't just not pay you for a week! That's ILLEGAL. You should be consulting a lawyer not filing unemployment.
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Mateo Rodriguez
•My company did the exact same thing last year. It's actually legal if they shut down for a FULL workweek and you don't do ANY work. They can't reduce your pay for partial weeks, but full weeks are different. I filed unemployment for that week and it was approved.
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Aisha Abdullah
Let me clarify the salary exempt rules since there seems to be some confusion. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers cannot reduce the salary of exempt employees for partial workweeks, but they CAN impose unpaid furloughs if: 1. The furlough is for an entire workweek (Monday-Friday) 2. You perform absolutely NO work during that period What your employer is doing is legal as long as they meet these conditions. And yes, you can claim unemployment for that week. For filing: You'll claim AFTER the week is complete. So if the furlough is Dec 22-26, 2025, you'd file on Dec 28. Make sure you report that you were available for work that week and that this was a temporary layoff initiated by the employer.
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Nia Thompson
•I still think this sounds shady. How is it different from just laying someone off for a week? If they're truly exempt they should be EXEMPT from these kinds of wage fluctuations. That's the whole point!!!
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Aisha Abdullah
•The key difference is that with exempt employees, the employer can't reduce salary for partial workweeks (like saying "we're only paying you 3 days this week"), but they can for full workweeks where no work is performed. It's a specific carve-out in the FLSA regulations. The DOL has issued guidance on this exact scenario. It's essentially a temporary layoff, which is why unemployment benefits are available.
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Ethan Wilson
I just went through this exact situation with my accounting firm in February. After spending HOURS trying to reach ESD to confirm I could file, I eventually used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual agent. They confirmed I could claim unemployment for the furlough week since I performed zero work, despite being salaried exempt. The agent explained that as long as you have an existing claim, you can report your one week of unemployment by reactivating your claim (if it's inactive) or just filing your weekly claim (if it's still active). Their video shows how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 Saved me a ton of time after being on hold for over 2 hours trying to get an answer to this exact question.
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Zara Ahmed
•Thank you! I was worried about how I'd even get through to ask these questions. My claim is still open but inactive since I've been employed. I'll check out that service if I can't get through to ESD directly.
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NeonNova
This happens in my industry every december. Make sure you restart your claim before filing for that week! And dont forget to do your job searches even for just that one week (3 activities). A lot of people miss that part and get disqualified.
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Zara Ahmed
•Oh! I totally forgot about the job search requirements. Do I really need to do job searches for just one week of unemployment? That seems excessive...
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Luca Esposito
•Yes, you still need to complete your job search activities even for a single week claim, UNLESS you get approved for standby status. Since this is a short, temporary layoff where you have a return date, you might qualify for standby, which would exempt you from job search requirements. Ask your employer if they'd be willing to support your standby request - you'd need to provide a definite return-to-work date.
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Yuki Tanaka
When I had a furlough last year, I accidentally waited until after I returned to work to file and ESD rejected my claim saying I wasn't "able and available" for work during the claimed week because I was back at my job!!! Make sure you file on the Sunday IMMEDIATELY after your furlough week ends, don't wait! Also, I don't remember anyone mentioning this, but there's a one-week waiting period for unemployment in Washington. If you haven't claimed any weeks since you opened your claim in August, that first week might be your waiting week (unpaid). Unless that's already been satisfied.
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Zara Ahmed
•I did receive unemployment for a few weeks between jobs, so I think I've already served the waiting week. But that's a good reminder about filing immediately after the furlough ends - I'll make sure to do it that same Sunday!
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Mateo Rodriguez
I work in HR and we do this occasionally. Make sure your employer reports your furlough correctly to ESD as a temporary reduction in hours rather than just not scheduling you. It makes the approval process smoother. Also, don't do ANY work that week - no emails, no phone calls. If you do even 5 minutes of work, technically it's no longer a full-week furlough under FLSA and complicates things.
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Zara Ahmed
•Good point! I'll make sure to completely disconnect from work that week. No checking emails or anything. And I'll check with our HR about how they're reporting it.
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Aisha Abdullah
One more thing to be aware of: If your benefit year from the August claim is nearing its end, make sure it hasn't expired. Benefit years last 52 weeks from when you first filed, but you can only receive benefits for a maximum of 26 weeks within that period. If you're approaching either of those limits, you might need to file a new claim rather than reactivating the old one. Check your remaining balance in eServices to confirm you have benefits available for that one week.
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Zara Ahmed
•Thanks for pointing that out. I filed in August 2025, so I should still be within the benefit year. I only collected about 5 weeks of benefits before finding my current job, so I should have plenty of benefit weeks remaining.
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