Desperate after ESD denied my benefits - facing foreclosure and no income

Please hang in there. I went through something similar last fall when ESD incorrectly flagged my claim for "working and claiming" when I'd reported every single hour correctly. It took almost 8 weeks, but I got it resolved and received backpay. First thing - have you filed an official appeal? You only have 30 days from the determination letter to do this. Also, make sure you keep filing your weekly claims even while fighting the denial - this is CRUCIAL so you can get backpay when it's resolved.

omg this system is BROKEN!!! same thing happened to my cousin, her boss fired her then told esd she quit!!! she fought for like 2 months to get it fixed. keep calling and document EVERYTHING. write down every call, who u talked to, time/date. theyll try to make u give up

First, take a deep breath. You WILL get through this. I'm an HR manager and deal with ESD issues regularly. Here's what you need to do: 1. Continue filing weekly claims (as mentioned) 2. Check that your appeal was properly received - call the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) directly at 360-407-2700 to confirm your appeal is in their system 3. Gather documentation: termination letter, emails discussing layoff, contact info for former colleagues who can verify the layoff 4. Contact your former employer's HR department directly - sometimes a quick email from them to ESD can clear things up 5. Submit all documentation through your eServices account AND mail physical copies with your claim ID clearly marked Don't give up. The system is overwhelmed but designed to eventually get to the truth. While waiting, have you applied for emergency assistance through DSHS? They can help with immediate needs.

I went through this exact nightmare in 2025. I discovered a service called Claimyr that helped me finally get through to ESD. It basically holds your place in the phone queue and calls you when an agent is about to answer. Cost me some money but was worth every penny since I got my benefits sorted in days instead of weeks. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 - their website is claimyr.com if you're interested. Honestly would have lost my apartment without it.

Listen, ESD is a complete disaster and they do this to people ON PURPOSE! They're trained to deny claims hoping people give up and don't appeal. I worked in a call center for 3 years and my entire department (43 people) got laid off when they moved operations overseas. They marked HALF of us as voluntary quits!!! Pure evil bureaucratic tactics. The only thing that works is being RELENTLESS and documenting everything. And call your state representative's office - seriously. Mine helped push my case through after I got nowhere for 6 weeks.

have you checked your eServices account to see if there are any alerts or action items there? sometimes they request additional info but the notification emails go to spam. also did you check under "decisions" tab to see the exact reason for denial? might give you clues on what specific documentation you need to provide.

Something else to try - in my case, what finally worked was sending a secure message through eServices specifically asking for a callback from an adjudicator (not just general questions). In the subject line I put "URGENT - Incorrect Disqualification - Documentation Attached" and then in the message explained very briefly that I had documentation proving I was laid off, not quit. I got a call two days later from an adjudicator who fixed it on the spot once I explained. Worth trying while you wait for the appeal hearing.

i know this sounds weird but try calling right when they open in the morning like 2-3 minutes before 8am. thats how i finally got through after weeks of trying. also my friend had good luck calling the special olympia number instead of the main one, its 360-486-5817 i think

One more important thing - make sure you're clearly requesting backpay (retroactive benefits) in all your communications. Once your denial is reversed, you're entitled to all weeks you correctly filed claims for, but sometimes you need to specifically request this. Also, for your immediate financial crisis, please consider: 1. Calling 211 for emergency assistance resources 2. Contacting your mortgage company to request hardship forbearance 3. Applying for emergency food assistance (takes about 24-48 hrs for approval) 4. Reaching out to local community action agencies Don't give up on the ESD fight, but also put some effort into stopgap measures to keep things together while you wait. This is a temporary situation, and there are resources designed specifically to help during this type of crisis.