Can your previous employer deny unemployment benefits in Washington ESD?

Employers can't directly 'deny' your unemployment claim, but they can contest it by providing information to Washington ESD about your separation. They might claim you were fired for misconduct or that you quit voluntarily. The final decision always rests with Washington ESD after they review all the information from both sides.

Your employer will definitely get notified when you file and they have the opportunity to respond with their version of events. Most legitimate layoffs don't get contested unless there are other factors involved. What matters is the actual reason you left the job.

I had a similar situation last year where my boss was threatening to 'make sure I don't get unemployment' after I got laid off. Turned out they couldn't do much since it was a legitimate workforce reduction. The key is that Washington ESD makes the final determination, not your employer.

Just went through this mess myself. My employer tried to fight my claim by saying I was fired for attendance issues, but I had medical documentation for my absences. Washington ESD sided with me after reviewing everything. The process was stressful though - I couldn't get through on the phone for weeks to check on my case status. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me actually reach an agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Saved me hours of calling.

ugh this whole system is so backwards. Why should employers even have a say in unemployment claims?? They already fired you or laid you off, now they get to try and block your benefits too? Makes no sense.

From what I understand, the employer gets charged more unemployment insurance tax if they have a lot of claims, so some try to contest even legitimate ones to keep their rates down. It's basically a cost-saving measure for them.

The important thing to remember is that Washington ESD is an independent agency. They don't work for your employer. Their job is to determine if you qualify for benefits based on state law, not based on what your employer wants. Stay factual in any communications and you should be fine.

Make sure you respond to any requests for information from Washington ESD quickly. If they send you forms or ask for documentation as part of investigating your employer's contest, don't ignore it or delay. Missing deadlines can hurt your case even if you're in the right.

Been through this twice - once for a layoff and once when I was wrongfully terminated. In both cases my employers initially contested, but Washington ESD approved my claims after investigation. The system actually works pretty fairly if you have the facts on your side.

wait so if I got fired for being late too much can my employer block my unemployment? asking for a friend obviously lol

I'm dealing with something similar right now. Got laid off but my employer is claiming I quit voluntarily because I took a different shift to avoid conflicts with my supervisor. It's completely false but now I'm stuck in adjudication hell trying to prove it was actually constructive dismissal.

Just want to add that even if your employer contests your claim, you should continue filing your weekly claims while the issue is being resolved. If you're ultimately approved, you'll get backpay for the weeks you were eligible.

This whole thread makes me nervous about filing. I got laid off last month but haven't applied yet because I'm worried about my former boss causing problems. Should I just file anyway?

One thing to remember is that if your employer does contest and you end up in an appeal hearing, you'll have the chance to present your side of the story directly to an administrative law judge. They're trained to spot employer retaliation and frivolous contests.

Pro tip: if you have any coworkers who were also laid off, their claims can actually help support your case. If multiple people were let go for the same reason, it's harder for the employer to claim individual misconduct.

I've been following this thread and wanted to share my experience from the employer side. I used to work in HR and we only contested claims when there was clear misconduct or voluntary resignation. Legitimate layoffs were never contested because it would just waste everyone's time and potentially result in penalties for frivolous contests.

For what it's worth, I had an employer try to contest my claim by saying I was fired for poor performance when I was actually laid off. Washington ESD saw right through it and approved my benefits within two weeks. Don't let employer intimidation tactics scare you away from filing.

Bottom line: file your claim, tell the truth, keep documentation, and don't let your employer's threats intimidate you. The unemployment system exists to help people like you who lost their jobs through no fault of their own. Use it.

Just saw this thread and had to add - I work for a company that regularly does layoffs and we've never contested a single legitimate unemployment claim. Any employer who tries to block benefits after a layoff is just being vindictive. Washington ESD will see through it.

I went through a similar situation about 6 months ago when my company did layoffs. My manager made some threatening comments too, but here's what I learned: Washington ESD has pretty strict guidelines about what constitutes valid grounds for contesting a claim. For layoffs specifically, employers need to prove either that it wasn't actually a layoff (like you quit or were fired for cause) or that you don't meet other eligibility requirements. Since you mentioned your whole department was eliminated, that's pretty clear evidence it was a legitimate workforce reduction. The worst case scenario is they contest it and cause some delays, but if you have documentation showing it was truly a layoff, you should be fine. I'd recommend keeping any emails about the layoffs, your termination letter, or anything else that shows the business reason for letting people go.