Can you get Washington ESD unemployment if you receive severance pay?

How do I know which category my severance falls into? The HR person wasn't very clear about the details.

Check if your severance is tied to continuing work obligations or if it's just a goodbye payment. If there are no work requirements, it's usually treated differently than regular wages.

Did your severance delay your benefits or just reduce the weekly amount?

In my case, it reduced my weekly benefits for the first few weeks but didn't completely disqualify me. Just be upfront about everything on your application.

Is that legit? Sounds too good to be true with how impossible it is to reach anyone at Washington ESD.

I was skeptical too but it actually worked. They handle the calling and waiting so you don't have to sit on hold for hours.

How much does something like that cost though? I'm already stressed about money.

Where exactly on the Washington ESD site does it explain this? I've been looking but can't find clear information.

Look under the 'Eligibility' section and search for 'other income' or 'severance.' The info is scattered around unfortunately.

That's awful! Did she ever find out why there was such a long delay?

something about adjudication but they never really explained it properly

My severance is structured as 4 weeks of pay. Does that mean I can't collect unemployment for those 4 weeks?

Exactly - if it's structured as payment for specific weeks, you'll need to wait until those weeks are over to be eligible for unemployment benefits.

Wait, that doesn't sound right. I thought it was based on the total amount regardless of how it's structured?

You should definitely keep looking for work regardless - that's one of the requirements anyway for unemployment benefits.

True, I just meant whether to take something short-term that might affect my benefits later.

That's confusing - how do they calculate the weekly deduction if it's all reported in one week?

Washington ESD will spread it out over the weeks it's intended to cover based on your regular wages. They have formulas for this stuff.

Good point! I made that mistake and had to call Washington ESD to straighten it out.

That's exactly why I ended up using Claimyr - needed to clarify these kinds of details with an actual Washington ESD representative rather than guessing.

This is so important! A coworker thought they could skip mentioning their severance and ended up having to pay back benefits plus penalties.

Definitely planning to report everything accurately. Just want to understand the rules before I file.

How do you update them between weekly claims? Is there a way to do it online?

You can usually call or use their online system to report changes. The important thing is not to wait.

That's what worries me - seems like there's no consistent answer to this question.

That's why having a service like Claimyr to actually reach someone who can look at your specific case is so helpful. Beats trying to figure out generic rules.

Or you could just file the claim and see what happens? They'll tell you if there are issues.

How do I calculate what my weekly benefit amount would be to compare against my severance?

Washington ESD has a benefit calculator on their website, or you can estimate it as roughly half your average weekly wage.

Is that actually true? I thought if you don't use all your benefits within the benefit year, you just lose them.

You're right about the benefit year limit, but severance delays don't count against that timeline the same way voluntary gaps in claiming do.

That makes sense. I guess I was overthinking it trying to figure out all the details first.

Exactly! File first, figure out the complicated stuff later. You can always provide additional information if they need it.