Do I report paid job training hours on my ESD weekly claim?
I started a new job and they're requiring me to do 16 hours of paid training this week. Do I need to report these training hours as 'hours worked' on my weekly ESD claim? I'm getting my regular hourly rate for the training. I'm worried about messing up my claim since I'm still collecting partial benefits while ramping up to full-time. Anyone know the right way to handle this? I don't want to get hit with an overpayment later!
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Ravi Choudhury
Yes, you absolutely need to report those training hours! ESD considers any hours you're paid for as work hours, regardless if it's training, meetings, or regular work duties. Since you're getting your regular pay rate, you report both the hours and the earnings on your weekly claim. This is especially important since you're on partial benefits.
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Isabella Silva
•Thank you! That's what I was thinking but wanted to make sure. Do you know if I should put anything in the comments section explaining that it was training instead of regular work?
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CosmosCaptain
I went through this exact situation last year. You definitely report the training hours AND the pay on your weekly claim. ESD doesn't distinguish between training and regular work - if you're getting paid, those are work hours. Make sure to report the gross amount before any taxes or deductions are taken out. Also keep good records of your training hours in case there's any question later.
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Isabella Silva
•Thanks for confirming! I'll definitely keep track of everything. My training is split over 4 days (4 hours each day) so I'll make sure to count all 16 hours.
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Freya Johansen
ya totally put it down as hrs worked cuz its the same thing to ESD. i didnt do that once thinking training wasnt the same and they hit me with an overpayment later. total nightmare
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Isabella Silva
•Oh no! Were you able to fix the overpayment situation or did you have to pay it back?
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Freya Johansen
•had to pay it ALL back plus they took me off benefits for 2 weeks as a penalty for "misreporting" even tho i didnt know any better. dont make my mistake!!
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Omar Fawzi
WAIT - is this paid job training from WorkSource or a program ESD sent you to, or is this training for an actual employer who hired you? The answer depends on this! If it's an employer who's paying you, then YES, it's reportable work hours. But if it's a state-approved training program, that's different!
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Isabella Silva
•It's definitely for my new employer - they hired me and are paying me while I learn their systems. So based on everyone's answers, I'll report it as work hours.
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Omar Fawzi
•OK good! Just wanted to make sure because the WorkSource training programs are treated differently. But yes, if your employer is paying you, it's 100% reportable income and hours.
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Chloe Wilson
When I was trying to reach ESD to ask questions like this, I kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. I finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual ESD agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. It was super helpful for getting specific answers about my situation.
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Freya Johansen
•does that actually work?? ive been trying to get thru to esd for 2 weeks about my identity verification issue
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Chloe Wilson
•It worked for me! I was skeptical too, but I was desperate after trying to call for days. The agent I spoke with was able to answer all my questions about reporting different types of work hours.
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Diego Mendoza
Everyone's right that paid training hours count as work. One thing nobody mentioned - if your training hours plus regular work hours push you over your state's threshold for partial benefits, you might not get any unemployment that week. Here in WA, if you work 40 hours OR earn more than your weekly benefit amount, you won't get benefits that week. Just something to be aware of!
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Isabella Silva
•That's good to know. My weekly benefit is $585 and I'll make about $320 from the training, so I should still get partial benefits this week.
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Anastasia Romanov
I remember when I first started at Boeing they had us do like 3 weeks of training and I kept collecting full unemployment because I didn't think it counted. Then six months later ESD came after me for like $4,500 in overpayments! I'm still paying it back. They track everything through employer payroll reports so they WILL find out.
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Omar Fawzi
•Ugh that sucks but it's typical ESD. They never explain things clearly and then punish people for not understanding their complicated rules. Their handbook should have a whole section just on training hours!
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Diego Mendoza
Just to add one more detail - when you report your training hours, you'll report them for the week they're worked, not when you get paid for them. So if your training is this week but you don't get your first paycheck until next week, you still report the hours and earnings for this week's claim.
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Isabella Silva
•Thank you! That's really helpful - my company pays bi-weekly so I won't see the money for a couple weeks, but I'll report it now. Appreciate everyone's help with this!
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