Denied after 7 weeks in ESD adjudication - can I get backpay if I find work before appeal approval?

Yes, you can absolutely receive backpay for the weeks you were eligible and filed claims, even if you're employed by the time your appeal is approved. This is actually pretty common. Make sure you continue filing your weekly claims during the appeal process (reporting any earnings if you start working) until you get a decision. This preserves your right to those benefits if you win the appeal. Good luck with the job interview and your appeal!

they're gonna deny ur appeal too, those jerks alaways do. i had the EXACT same situation last year where my boss kept changing my hrs with no notice and esd said thats not good enuff reason to quit. they dont care about workers AT ALL. i appealed and waited like 2.5 months for a hearing and they still denied it. complete waste of time.

I went through this exact process last year. Here's what you need to know: 1. Keep filing weekly claims until your appeal is decided (even after starting a new job) 2. Report ANY work/earnings accurately on those weekly claims 3. If you win your appeal, ESD will automatically calculate backpay for eligible weeks 4. If you have earnings during any of those weeks, they'll reduce your benefit accordingly The key thing is to keep filing those weekly claims and tracking everything carefully. If you stop filing, you lose eligibility for those weeks regardless of your appeal outcome. Also, be super prepared for your appeal hearing. Bring documentation of the erratic scheduling, any texts/emails about schedule changes, and emphasize how it made continued employment unreasonable.

Have you tried calling ESD directly to ask about this? Sometimes the reps can give you better info about your specific case than random people online.

Since you're having trouble reaching ESD by phone (totally common problem), you might want to try Claimyr (claimyr.com). They have a service that helps you get through to an actual ESD agent without the endless hold times. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. I used them when I was having similar issues reaching someone about my adjudication, and it saved me hours of frustration.

this happened to my cousin too! he got a job while waiting for appeal and still got all his back money when he won. but it took like 3 months for the whole process so dont count on that money coming fast lol

BTW make sure when you file your appeal that you specifically mention the "good cause" part of leaving your job. The fact that they kept changing your schedule with no notice is ACTUALLY covered under WA unemployment rules as good cause, but you need to spell it out super clearly. I'd even cite the specific rule about unreasonable schedule changes if you can find it - that really helped with my appeal.

One thing that really helped my appeal was having a clear timeline of events. I'd recommend writing down exactly when these schedule changes happened, how much notice you were given, how it affected you (missed appointments, childcare issues, etc). Having specific examples rather than general complaints makes a huge difference to the judge. Also, if you had any conversations with your supervisor trying to resolve the issue before quitting, document those too.

UPDATE: I got through to ESD finally! The agent confirmed that yes, I can get backpay for the weeks I was waiting in adjudication IF my appeal is successful. She also said I should definitely keep filing weekly claims until the appeal is decided (even after I start working) and just report any new income accurately. She said the appeal is likely to take 6-8 weeks, which isn't great but at least I know now. Thanks everyone for your help!