Disqualified status on first week of ESD unemployment claim - normal or problem?

yep totally normal, first week is always waiting week. you dont get paid for it but u still gotta file. same thing happened 2 me

The first week of your unemployment claim is considered a 'waiting week' in Washington state. It's not a disqualification in the sense that you did something wrong - it's just a standard waiting period. You must serve one waiting week per benefit year, and yes, you need to be eligible during that week (meaning you must complete job search activities, be able and available for work, etc.) The status shows as 'disqualified' because that's unfortunately how ESD's system labels the waiting week, which causes a lot of confusion for new claimants. As long as you continue filing your weekly claims, you should start receiving benefits for Week 2 and beyond. One important note: Make sure you're completing and documenting your three job search activities each week, even during the waiting week.

When I filed last year the same exact thing happened. Don't worry about it!

WRONG!!! While there IS a waiting week, it shouldn't show as "disqualified" - it should show as "waiting week" on your claim!!! When mine showed disqualified last year it was because they needed more info from my employer and I had to wait 6 WEEKS in adjudication before they fixed it!!! You better call ESD ASAP before you waste weeks with no money coming in!!!!

I just went through this confusing mess myself! My first week showed as disqualified too, and I freaked out. I spent 3 days trying to get through to ESD with no luck - constant busy signals and disconnects. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an ESD agent. They have this service that calls ESD for you and connects you when they get through. Their video demo explains it all: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 Anyway, the agent confirmed it was just the waiting week and nothing to worry about. My benefits started the following week. Saved me a ton of anxiety!

Thanks everyone for the replies! Sounds like this is normal but I appreciate all the different perspectives. I think I'll try calling them just to make sure everything's good with my claim overall, especially after seeing some of the comments about potential issues. Better safe than sorry!

Just a quick follow-up - when you do check your claim status online, look for the "waiting week" notation somewhere else in your claim details. Sometimes it will show "disqualified" in the payment status but "waiting week" in the comments or claim notes section. Also, make absolutely sure you continue filing your weekly claims without interruption, even if you're concerned about the status. Missing a weekly claim can cause much bigger problems than serving your waiting week.

forgot to mention make sure ur answering all the questions right on ur weekly claim. like if they ask if u looked for work say YES and if they ask if u turned down any work say NO. sometimes people get disqualified for answering those wrong

My husband went through 3 months of nightmares with ESD last year because of a simple mistake on his first claim. His first week was disqualified (waiting week), but then his second week also got disqualified because he accidentally put down the wrong separation date from his job. Took forever to fix it! Double-check all your dates and info.

Just wanted to add that construction workers sometimes have additional considerations with their claims since the work is often seasonal or project-based. Make sure when you're doing your job searches that you're looking for work that matches your availability and skills - ESD requires "suitable work" searches, not just any random jobs. For construction, that usually means looking at union halls, contractor websites, and industry-specific job boards. Also, if you have any union affiliation, make sure you're checking in with them regularly as that can sometimes count toward your work search requirements. Good luck!

Adding to what others have said - I went through this exact same situation about 8 months ago when I got laid off from my warehouse job. That "disqualified" status for Week 1 is definitely the waiting week, even though the terminology is super confusing. What helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet to track my weekly claims and job search activities from the very beginning. I'd recommend documenting everything - dates you filed, what status shows up, your three job searches each week with company names and how you applied. This way if any issues come up later, you have all your records organized. The construction industry can be tricky with unemployment since work is often temporary, but as long as you keep filing consistently and doing your job searches, you should be fine. Don't let that first week status stress you out!