Can I recover attorney fees after winning ESD appeal? Legal costs question
Just got my appeal decision yesterday - I WON against ESD! After being denied benefits for 4 months and going through the whole OAH hearing process, the judge reversed their decision completely. I'm relieved but also frustrated because I had to hire an attorney who charged $1,750 to help me prepare for the hearing (worth every penny since I won). My question is: Can I make ESD pay for my attorney fees now that I've won? I feel like they should cover my legal costs since they were WRONG about my case. The denial was based on a miscalculation of my base year wages that my attorney easily proved was incorrect. Has anyone successfully gotten ESD to reimburse legal fees after winning an appeal? What's the process?
17 comments
Join the conversation
Isabella Santos
Congratulations on winning your appeal! Unfortunately, ESD generally doesn't reimburse attorney fees even when you win your appeal. The unemployment appeal system is designed to be navigated without attorneys, and there's no provision in Washington unemployment law that allows for recovery of legal fees from the Department. You could ask your attorney if there are any exceptions that might apply to your specific situation, but in most cases, legal fees are your responsibility even if you prevail in the appeal.
0 coins
Malik Davis
•That's so unfair! It cost me almost $2k to fight their mistake! I wouldn't have needed an attorney if they had just calculated my wages correctly in the first place. There should be some accountability when they mess up people's lives with incorrect decisions.
0 coins
Ravi Gupta
congrats on winning!! i didnt use a lawyer for my appeal but my friend did for hers and she couldn't get the fees back either. its super annoying. at least you'll get all your backpay now right?
0 coins
Malik Davis
•Yes, they said I'll get all my back payments within 10-14 business days. That's about $11,200 in total, so I'll still come out ahead after paying the attorney. Just feels wrong that there's no penalty for ESD when they mess up.
0 coins
GalacticGuru
Attorney here who occasionally handles unemployment cases. The previous responses are correct - Washington's unemployment law doesn't have a fee-shifting provision that would allow you to recover attorney's fees from ESD when you win an appeal. Unlike some other areas of law (discrimination cases, consumer protection, etc.), the unemployment statute doesn't create a mechanism for the losing agency to pay your legal costs. What you SHOULD focus on is making sure all your back benefits are calculated correctly. Make sure they include: 1. All weeks you claimed during the appeal period 2. Correct weekly benefit amount 3. Any applicable dependent allowances If you notice any discrepancies in the back payment, contact ESD immediately, as there are time limitations for correcting payment issues.
0 coins
Malik Davis
•Thank you for the detailed information. I'll definitely check the back payment calculations carefully. My lawyer said something similar but I was hoping there might be some loophole or exception. I appreciate you confirming this.
0 coins
Freya Pedersen
THE SYSTEM IS RIGGED!!!! ESD can make ANY mistake they want and WE have to pay thousands to fix it with zero consequences for them!!!! happened to me too last year. they said i committed fraud (I DIDNT) and I had to get a lawyer too. won my case but was out $2300 for the lawyer. absolute garbage system.
0 coins
Omar Fawaz
•This is why I'm terrified of getting randomly audited by ESD. I've heard so many horror stories about them making mistakes and then people having to spend thousands to fix them. Did you try contacting your state representative? Sometimes they can help with ESD issues.
0 coins
Chloe Anderson
You might want to try contacting your state representative. While there's no formal process for getting attorney fees reimbursed by ESD, I've seen cases where political pressure led to accommodations in particularly egregious cases. If your case involved a clear error on ESD's part (like the wage calculation error you mentioned), a state rep might take interest. BTW, if anyone is still struggling to reach ESD about pending issues, I found a service called Claimyr that helped me get through to an actual ESD agent after weeks of trying. Saved me from potentially needing an attorney altogether. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. Their website is claimyr.com if you want to check it out.
0 coins
Malik Davis
•That's a really good idea about contacting my state rep. Hadn't thought of that! And thanks for the Claimyr tip - if I ever have to deal with ESD again (hopefully not anytime soon), I'll keep that in mind. Anything to avoid spending weeks trying to get through on the phone.
0 coins
Diego Vargas
wait so what exactly did they mess up with your wage calculation? Im having a similar issue right now where they didnt count one of my employers from my base year. Trying to figure out if i need a lawyer or if i can handle the appeal myself...
0 coins
Malik Davis
•In my case, they somehow missed almost 6 months of wages from one employer during my base year (Oct-Dec 2024 and Jan-Mar 2025). It was clearly in my work history but they just...didn't count it? My attorney got wage verification documents from my employer and presented them at the hearing. The judge seemed annoyed that ESD had missed something so obvious. If your case is similar, you might be able to handle it yourself by getting wage verification from the missing employer. My situation was complicated because I also had some 1099 work mixed in, which is partly why I hired an attorney.
0 coins
Isabella Santos
I should add one more thing to my earlier comment - if your appeal was based on ESD engaging in truly improper conduct (not just making a mistake), you might have other legal options. There are rare cases where actions against state agencies can include attorney fee recovery, but these are exceptional situations involving things like demonstrated bad faith or violation of constitutional rights. These cases go beyond the normal unemployment appeal process and would need to be filed in superior court, not through OAH. It's a completely different legal track and would likely cost more than it would recover unless the circumstances were extraordinary.
0 coins
Malik Davis
•Thanks for the follow-up. I don't think my case rises to that level - it seems like it was just incompetence rather than bad faith. The administrative judge did note in her decision that ESD had "failed to properly apply its own regulations regarding wage calculation" but didn't suggest any malice. Probably not worth pursuing further legal action.
0 coins
Ravi Gupta
did you have to wait a long time for your hearing? i filed an appeal in early january and still haven't gotten a hearing date yet :
0 coins
Malik Davis
•Yes! It took almost 3 months to get my hearing scheduled. I filed the appeal in mid-December 2024 and didn't get a hearing until early March 2025. Then it was another 2 weeks for the decision. The whole process from initial denial to winning the appeal was about 4.5 months. Hang in there!
0 coins
Dominique Adams
I'm so sorry you had to go through this ordeal, but congratulations on winning your appeal! I'm currently in a similar situation - ESD denied my benefits claiming I was fired for misconduct (which is completely false), and I'm considering whether to hire an attorney for my upcoming hearing. Reading about your experience is both encouraging and frustrating. It's great that you won, but it's absolutely infuriating that ESD can make blatant errors with zero accountability. The fact that you had to spend $1,750 to fix THEIR mistake with your wage calculations is ridiculous. Can I ask - do you think having the attorney made a significant difference in your case? I'm trying to decide if it's worth the cost or if I should try to represent myself. My case involves them mischaracterizing a workplace incident, so I'm not sure how complex the evidence presentation will be.
0 coins