Can you get unemployment from a seasonal job in Washington state?

That's a relief! I did work part-time at a restaurant last summer so I should have earnings in multiple quarters. Do I need to do anything special when filing since it was seasonal?

Nope, just file normally through the Washington ESD website. Make sure to report your last day of work accurately and include all your wage information.

wait, do you have to look for work even if you know you're going back to the same seasonal job next year?

Yeah unfortunately you do. I thought I could just wait for my old job to start up again but Washington ESD requires active job search unless you're on standby status, which is pretty rare.

Actually, you might qualify for standby if your employer specifically told you they'd rehire you for next season and gave you a definite return date. Worth asking Washington ESD about when you file.

Three weeks isn't too bad actually. Mine took over a month because I had worked for two different seasonal employers and they had to contact both. If you're having trouble reaching Washington ESD to check on your claim status, I used Claimyr.com to get through to an actual person. They have a service that calls for you and there's a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works.

Interesting, I've never heard of that service. Did it actually work for getting through to someone at Washington ESD?

Yeah it worked great! I was stuck trying to call for days and getting nowhere. Claimyr got me connected to an agent who explained exactly what documents I needed to submit for my seasonal employment verification.

Good point, but I worked at a private ski resort so I think I'm good on that front.

Right, the school/government restrictions mainly apply between academic terms. Private seasonal businesses like ski resorts, farms, retail seasonal work - all should qualify normally.

That's super frustrating. Have you tried logging into your account on the secure Washington ESD website to check your claim status? Sometimes the info there is more up to date than what the phone agents have.

I've checked but it just says 'under review' and has said that for 2 weeks. I need to talk to someone but can never get through!

I'd seriously recommend trying Claimyr for getting through to Washington ESD. I mentioned it earlier but it really does work - they handle the calling hassle for you.

Yeah I got proper paystubs and everything was on the books. The ski resort is pretty big so I'm sure they handle all the tax stuff correctly.

Smart to check! So many seasonal places try to avoid taxes by paying cash. If they didn't report wages to Washington ESD you won't have those earnings count toward your benefit calculation.

It really shouldn't vary that much - the rules are pretty clear about seasonal work qualifying. If someone's having issues it's usually because of incomplete wage reporting or not meeting the base period requirements.

maybe but I've seen some weird stuff happen with seasonal claims. My cousin got denied initially because they said her Christmas tree lot job was 'temporary' not 'seasonal' - had to appeal to get it fixed

Good reminder! I'm planning to file this week since my last day was 2 weeks ago. Should still be within the window.

You're fine - you can backdate your claim up to one week from when you file. The important thing is not to wait months before applying.

This is great advice! Documentation is key with any unemployment claim but especially seasonal work since the employment pattern looks different.

Thanks everyone! I feel much more confident about filing now. Going to gather all my paperwork and submit my claim this week.

You can sometimes reopen an existing claim if it's still within the benefit year and you haven't exhausted all your benefits. Otherwise you'll need to file a new claim with updated wage information.

Yeah I reopened my claim from the previous year since I was still within the 52-week benefit period. Saved some time compared to filing fresh.

Depends on your specific situation but Washington ESD will tell you whether to reopen or file new when you start the process online.

Agreed! A lot of seasonal workers think they can't get benefits because they only worked a few months, but as long as you earned enough in the right quarters you qualify.

That was exactly my confusion - I thought seasonal work somehow didn't count the same way. Good to know it's treated like any other job for UI purposes.

Fortunately I was hired directly by the ski resort so no temp agency complications for me.

Good point though - temp agency situations can definitely complicate the wage reporting aspect of seasonal claims.

I had a temp agency situation with my seasonal warehouse job last year and it was such a headache! The agency wasn't reporting wages correctly to Washington ESD and I had to get them to fix their records before my claim could be processed. Make sure to keep all your paystubs if you're working through an agency.