Do you file for unemployment where you work or live in Washington?

That makes sense, thanks! I was worried I'd have to deal with both states somehow.

Wait, I thought it was where you live? I'm in the same situation and was told to file in Washington.

This is correct. I work in payroll and we pay unemployment taxes to the state where the work is performed.

Good to know about the tax part, that helps it make more sense to me.

Thanks for the tip! I'll check that out if I run into issues with Idaho's system.

Never heard of that service but sounds useful. Getting through to unemployment offices is always a pain.

Multi-state claims are more complex. You'd typically file in the state where you worked most recently, but they might combine wages from both states.

Yeah, that's called an interstate claim. The state where you file will contact the other state to get your wage information.

Because unemployment insurance is managed by individual states, not the federal government. Each state has its own rules and benefit amounts.

It would be nice if they were all the same but states like to control their own programs I guess

How long did it take to process your claim in Oregon?

About 2 weeks for the initial determination, then weekly benefits started coming through normally.

Not for unemployment purposes. It's all about where the work was performed and where the employer paid unemployment insurance taxes.

Right, residency for taxes is different from unemployment insurance eligibility.

Remote work can be tricky. It usually depends on where the work is actually performed, which would be Washington in your case.

I think it also depends on where the company is registered and paying taxes but I'm not 100% sure on that.

Ugh that sounds frustrating. How long did it delay your benefits?

About 3 weeks total because I had to cancel the first claim and restart in the correct state.

Did it actually work? I'm skeptical of these kinds of services.

Yeah it worked for me. Got through to an actual person within like 10 minutes instead of hours of busy signals.

Yeah that's exactly my situation. At least now I know which state to file with.

Same here, lots of people in the Spokane area work across state lines.

Good point, I'll gather all that before I start the application.

Also have your last day of work and reason for separation ready to go.

Yes, every state has different maximum benefit amounts and duration. You'd need to check Idaho's current rates.

I think Idaho's max is lower than Washington's but don't quote me on that.

Glad it helped! That's exactly why I asked - figured other people might have the same confusion.

Yeah it's not intuitive at all. You'd think it would be where you live.

I bookmarked their site just in case. Hopefully Idaho's system is easier to navigate than Washington's.

Every state's unemployment system seems to have issues with high call volumes these days.

No problem! It's definitely not obvious and I bet tons of people get confused about this.

Exactly - seems like something they should make clearer on their websites.

Perfect summary! That's the key thing I needed to understand.

Wish I had known this rule years ago when I was in a similar situation.