Can you qualify for unemployment in Washington state - need help understanding eligibility

You'll likely qualify based on what you described. Washington ESD looks at your earnings during your 'base year' which is typically the first 4 quarters of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. With 14 months of work history and those earnings, you should meet the monetary requirements. Being terminated for performance issues usually doesn't disqualify you unless it was willful misconduct.

yeah you should definitely apply, the worst they can say is no but sounds like you have a good case

The key eligibility requirements for Washington ESD unemployment are: 1) You must have earned wages in at least 2 quarters of your base year, 2) Your total base year wages must be at least 680 times the state minimum wage, 3) You must be unemployed through no fault of your own, 4) You must be able and available for work, and 5) You must actively search for work. Based on your work history, you should easily meet the wage requirements.

If you're having trouble getting through to Washington ESD to ask questions about your eligibility, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you get connected to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. I used it when I was confused about my base year calculations and it saved me hours of calling.

APPLY ASAP!!! The sooner you file the better because there's a waiting week and benefits are backdated to when you first became eligible, not when you finally apply. Don't wait around wondering if you qualify - let Washington ESD make that determination.

i qualified with way less work history than you so youll be fine, just make sure you do your weekly claims on time every week

One thing to keep in mind - when you file, Washington ESD will contact your former employer to verify the reason for separation. Since you mentioned performance issues, be honest about what happened but don't assume you're disqualified. Performance-related terminations often still qualify for benefits unless there was clear misconduct involved.

the job search requirement is 3 jobs per week btw, make sure you keep track of where you apply because they audit that stuff

Washington ESD has been pretty good lately about processing claims quickly. My neighbor just filed last month and had no issues. The online system is much better than it used to be too.

Just a heads up - if your claim goes into adjudication for any reason, that's when services like Claimyr really come in handy. Adjudication can take weeks if you can't get through to explain your situation to an agent.

dude youre way overthinking this just file the claim and see what happens, washington unemployment is pretty generous compared to other states

Since you mentioned being confused by the base year calculations, here's a simple way to think about it: Washington ESD looks at the first 4 quarters of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. So if you file in January 2025, they'd typically look at January-December 2023 earnings. But you can sometimes use an alternate base year if that's more favorable.

I was in almost the exact same situation last year - retail job, performance issues, worried about qualifying. Ended up getting approved no problem and collected for 4 months while I found something better.

make sure when you file you have all your employer info ready because the system will time out if you take too long, learned that the hard way

If you do run into any issues or have questions after filing, definitely consider using Claimyr to get through to Washington ESD. I've recommended it to several people now and everyone's had good experiences. Much better than the endless hold times.

The weekly benefit amount in Washington is pretty decent too. You'll probably get around 60-70% of your average weekly wage up to the maximum, which I think is like $1,000+ per week now.

One last thing - when you do your weekly claims, be very careful about reporting any work or income accurately. Even small amounts need to be reported or you could end up with an overpayment issue later.

good luck with your claim! sounds like you should have no problem qualifying based on what everyone else has said

Washington ESD customer service has gotten way better in the last couple years. Even if you don't need Claimyr, the regular phone lines are more manageable now than they used to be.

Just wanted to add that the sooner you file, the sooner your waiting week starts. In Washington you have to serve one unpaid waiting week before benefits begin, so don't delay if you think you qualify.