Can you collect unemployment while working part-time in Washington state?

That's such a relief! So if my weekly benefit amount ends up being like $400, I could still get partial benefits as long as I earn less than $405 from the part-time job?

Exactly! And they deduct 75 cents from your benefit for every dollar you earn over $5. So if you earn $200, they'd deduct $146.25 from your weekly benefit amount.

Yikes! How much trouble did you get in? I definitely want to make sure I report everything correctly.

Had to pay back like $800 plus penalties. Took forever to resolve too. Just be honest about every penny you earn and you'll be fine.

My part-time job is pretty flexible with scheduling, so that shouldn't be an issue. Do they actually check on this or just take your word for it?

They can verify with employers if they want to, especially if there's a question about your availability. Better to be upfront about any scheduling restrictions.

I had the same problem until someone told me about Claimyr.com - it's a service that calls Washington ESD for you and gets you connected to an actual agent. Saved me hours of calling. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works.

Never heard of that but willing to try anything at this point. The hold times are insane right now.

It's legit - they basically handle all the calling and waiting for you, then connect you when an agent picks up. Way better than spending your whole day hitting redial.

Thanks, that's reassuring. I just want to make sure I don't accidentally do something wrong and mess up my benefits.

Good point! So if I earn $250 gross but only take home $200 after taxes, I report the $250?

Correct! Always report gross earnings. And if you get tips or cash payments, those count too.

Wait, I've been reporting my net pay this whole time... am I in trouble now?

Ugh, I was afraid of that. Guess I need to call them... if I can ever get through.

Seriously, try that Claimyr service the other person mentioned. I finally got through yesterday after using it and was able to sort out my adjudication issue.

Oh that's helpful! I'll look for that on their site. Thanks for the tip.

It's under the 'Resources' section I think. Really useful for figuring out if it's worth taking on more part-time hours or not.

That's encouraging! Any other tips for someone just starting out with partial benefits?

Keep detailed records of your earnings and hours worked. Makes filing the weekly claims much easier and you'll have documentation if any questions come up later.

Right, I almost forgot about the job search requirement. Can some of those be online applications or do they all need to be in-person contacts?

Online applications count! You just need to keep a log of what jobs you applied for, when, and the employer contact info. WorkSourceWA is good for tracking this stuff.

Adjudication delays are really frustrating right now. Have you tried uploading documents through the secure messaging system on your online account? Sometimes that's faster than waiting for a phone call.

I've uploaded everything they asked for twice! Still nothing. This is ridiculous.

I know you're frustrated but that Claimyr service I mentioned earlier might help you get through to someone who can actually look at your case and tell you what's holding it up.

Report it on your next weekly claim when they ask about earnings for that week. You don't need to contact them separately, just make sure you report all earnings when you file.

Perfect, thanks! I start Monday so I'll make sure to include those earnings on next week's claim.

That's awesome! I'm hoping my part-time gig might lead to something similar. Did you have to stop filing weekly claims as soon as you went full-time?

Yeah, once I was working full-time hours I was no longer eligible for benefits. But having that part-time work history definitely helped with the full-time interview.

If your weekly earnings exceed your weekly benefit amount plus $5, then you won't receive any unemployment benefits for that week. But you can still file claims for weeks when you earn less.

ok that makes sense. so it changes week to week based on how much i work

Good point! I wasn't planning on doing gig work but good to know for the future.

Washington ESD can cross-reference with tax records and payment platforms, so they'll find unreported earnings eventually. Better to be upfront from the start.

Just add up all your earnings from all sources for each week and report the total. Doesn't matter if it's from one job or five jobs - they just want the total gross earnings amount.

That's simpler than I thought. Thanks for clarifying!

That's exactly what I'm hoping to do - use the partial benefits to bridge the gap until I find something full-time again.

it definitely helps. just dont get too comfortable with it, keep looking for that full time job

Interesting, I hadn't thought about that scenario. What if the hours they offer conflict with my job search activities?

That's where it gets tricky. You'd probably need to discuss with Washington ESD on a case-by-case basis. Generally they expect you to prioritize work over job search activities.

You can collect partial benefits for the full duration of your claim as long as you remain eligible. The weeks don't get extended just because you're earning less - you still use up your benefit weeks at the same rate.

So I should probably try to find full-time work sooner rather than later to preserve those benefit weeks for a true emergency.

Same here! I feel much more confident about filing my claim now. Thanks everyone for all the detailed info.

Glad we could help! Just remember to keep detailed records and don't hesitate to contact Washington ESD if you have questions about specific situations.

This is exactly the kind of detailed advice I was hoping to find! I especially like the idea of keeping a spreadsheet - that sounds way more organized than just trying to remember everything each week. Quick question about the work search activities - do networking events and career fairs count as one contact each, or can you count multiple contacts from a single event?