Can I take a day trip to Canada while on ESD unemployment benefits?

You need to be careful with this. The "able and available" requirement means you must be ready to accept work or attend interviews for each day you claim benefits. If you're out of the country, even for a day, you technically wouldn't be available for work that day. When filing your weekly claim, you'd need to answer "no" to the question about being able and available for ALL days of the week.

The previous comment isn't quite right. ESD allows you to claim for partial weeks. On your weekly claim, you'd answer "No" to being able and available for all days, then the system will ask which days you weren't available. You'll only lose benefits for that specific day, not the entire week. I've done this before when I had a medical appointment that took all day - I just reported I wasn't available that day and still got benefits for the other 6 days.

I went to Portland for a weekend and still claimed those days because I was checking emails and had my phone. no problems. the system is broken anyway why should we suffer even MORE restrictions after losing our jobs?!? its a DAY TRIP not a 3 week vacation!!!

I tried calling ESD directly to ask a similar question last month when I wanted to visit family in Oregon. Spent THREE DAYS trying to get through with busy signals and disconnections. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got connected to ESD in about 25 minutes. The agent confirmed what others are saying here - you just report which day you weren't available and only lose benefits for that specific day. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 - definitely made the calling process way less painful.

To add some important details: when you answer "no" to the able and available question, you'll then see a calendar where you select which specific day(s) you weren't available. Your weekly benefit amount is then reduced by 1/7th for each day selected. So for your Canada trip, you'd just lose about $70-100 depending on your weekly benefit amount. Also, while technically crossing the border means you're not available, what really matters is whether you could return for an interview if contacted. A day trip where you could get back is different from being in Europe for 2 weeks.

my frind got in HUGE trouble because she went to mexico for 3 days and didnt tell esd. they found out somehow (i think passport control shares info with them?) and she had to pay back 3 weeks of benefits plus some kind of penalty. not worth it IMO just be honest!!!

For clarity, here's the official position: You must report any day you are not able and available for work. For a day trip to Canada, you would: 1. Answer "No" to the question asking if you were able and available for work every day of the week 2. On the calendar that appears, select the specific day you were in Canada 3. Your benefit for that week will be reduced by 1/7th of your weekly benefit amount for that one day This is much better than risking an overpayment notice later if they discover you weren't available. And as others mentioned, crossing international borders does create records that ESD can access during eligibility reviews.