Denied ESD claim for being 8 hours short of 680 hour requirement - any appeal options?

That really sucks! 8 hours is literally nothing in the big picture. Have you double checked that they counted ALL your work hours? Sometimes they miss hours from one of your employers if you had more than one job during your base year. Also, did you include any paid sick or vacation time? That counts toward your hours too.

I went through this exact situation in 2025 but I was short by 12 hours. You absolutely can appeal this determination. The key thing to understand is that ESD includes ALL paid hours in your base year, not just regular work hours. This includes: - Paid sick leave - Paid vacation time - Paid holidays - Paid training time - Even paid jury duty If any of these weren't included in your hour count, you need to gather documentation and file an appeal ASAP. You only have 30 days from the date on your determination letter to appeal. If you have pay stubs showing these additional hours, gather them now.

u can also check if u have any overtime hours that maybe they didnt count right? sometimes they make mistakes with the math u know

I've seen this situation several times working as an employment counselor. Beyond checking for vacation/sick pay hours, also look at your "base year" - which is the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you filed. Sometimes filing just one week later can include a different quarter with more hours. Another option: Washington has an "alternative base year" if you don't qualify under the standard base year. This uses the last 4 completed quarters instead. If you worked more hours recently, you can request ESD to recalculate using this alternative period. File your appeal in writing and be very specific about what hours you believe were missed or what alternative calculation you're requesting.

UGH this is so typical of ESD - they deny people over technicalities while big corporations get away with whatever they want!!! I was denied too but for a different reason and couldn't get ANYONE on the phone for weeks. Kept getting hung up on after waiting for hours. The whole system is designed to frustrate people so they'll give up. RIDICULOUS!!!

ur making this harder than it needs to be lol just file the appeal form and attach ur pay stubs. honestly they probably just made a counting error, happens all the time. my cousin works at ESD and says they're always short staffed.

One other thing to consider: if you worked for any federal employers during your base year (even briefly), sometimes those hours don't get automatically reported to ESD. You would need to request a wage verification from that employer specifically. Just thought I'd mention it in case it applies to your situation.

UPDATE: It worked!!! I appealed with copies of my paid vacation stubs and they reversed the decision! I qualified with 712 hours once they added in my vacation time. Benefits will be paid retroactively to my filing date. Thank you all for your help - I would have just given up without your advice!

This is great news and a perfect example of why appeals are so important. Many initial denials get overturned with the right documentation. For anyone else reading this thread in a similar situation - always appeal if you believe there's been an error or oversight. You have nothing to lose by appealing.

how long did the appeal take? i filed one 3 weeks ago and still havent heard anything back

This thread is incredibly helpful! I'm in almost the exact same situation - got denied for being 15 hours short of the 680 requirement. Reading through all this, I realized I never checked if they counted my paid sick days from when I had COVID last year. That was 5 days (40 hours) that should definitely be included. Also going to look into that alternative base year calculation since I picked up extra shifts in the most recent quarter. Filing my appeal this week - thanks everyone for sharing your experiences!

Just wanted to add another data point for anyone else dealing with this - I was initially denied for being short on hours too, but it turned out ESD hadn't counted hours from a temp agency job I had during my base year. Apparently temp agencies sometimes don't report wages/hours correctly to ESD's system. If you worked through any staffing agencies during your base period, definitely check that those hours are included in your determination. I had to get a wage statement directly from the temp agency and include it with my appeal. It's worth checking even if you think everything was reported correctly - these systems aren't perfect and mistakes happen more often than you'd think.

This entire thread should be required reading for anyone dealing with ESD denials! I work in HR and see employees get tripped up by these hour requirements all the time. One thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned yet - if you had any employer-paid training during your base year (orientation, safety training, etc.), make sure those hours are counted too. We've had several cases where new hire training hours weren't included in ESD's calculations. Also, if you were paid for any company meetings or mandatory events, those count as well. The key is that ANY time your employer paid you should be included in that 680-hour total. Keep all your pay stubs from the entire base year period - not just your regular work hours!