Does ESD standby status eliminate the waiting week? What about partial hours?
I'm confused about the standby status rules with ESD unemployment. My husband just got approved for standby through his union (construction work slowed due to winter weather). I understand it waives the job search requirements (though his union already has a job search waiver anyway). But I can't figure out if the one-week waiting period still applies when you're on standby? Also, this week he worked 20 hours instead of his usual 40. Would this partial week count as his 'waiting week' or does the waiting week have to be a week with zero work hours? The ESD website is so confusing and we really need to know how soon benefits will start. Any help appreciated!
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Olivia Garcia
Even with standby status, the waiting week still applies. That's a Washington state requirement that applies to all UI claims regardless of standby or job search requirements. As for your second question, yes, a partial work week can count as your waiting week as long as he filed a weekly claim for it. Just make sure he reports those 20 hours accurately when filing.
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Liam Brown
•Thank you! That's exactly what I needed to know. So even though he'll get reduced benefits for the 20-hour week (after they calculate the partial payment), at least that gets the waiting week out of the way. I appreciate the clear explanation.
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Noah Lee
my husban was on stanby last year and YES theres still a waiting week. its dumb but thats how it works lol
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Liam Brown
•Thanks for confirming! Did his benefits start the week after that? I'm just trying to budget and figure out when we might expect the first payment.
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Noah Lee
•yeah they did but it took like 10 days after he filed the second weekly claim for the money to show up fyi
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Ava Hernandez
STANDBY DOES NOT REMOVE THE WAITING WEEK!!! And when I was on standby last year they suddenly decided to question my standby status during week 4 and put me in adjudication for SIX WEEKS with no benefits!!! Complete nightmare trying to reach ESD. They eventually approved me but I nearly lost my apartment waiting. So even with standby approved, keep documentation handy because ESD loves to randomly review claims.
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Liam Brown
•Oh no, that sounds terrible! Did they ever explain why they suddenly questioned your standby? My husband's union arranged his, so I'm hoping that makes it more straightforward.
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Ava Hernandez
•They said something about "inconsistencies" in my employer's response but never specified what. Make sure your husband's employer and the union are 100% on the same page about return dates! That was probably my issue. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING.
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Isabella Martin
To clarify a few points about standby status and waiting weeks: 1. Standby status only waives job search requirements, not the waiting week 2. The waiting week is the first week you're eligible for benefits (meaning you must have filed a claim for that week) 3. You can work partial hours during your waiting week, but you must report them accurately 4. Your husband will receive partial benefits for weeks he works less than full-time (after deductions) 5. The benefit payment formula is approximately: weekly benefit amount minus 75% of earnings And one more thing - make sure he continues to file weekly claims even during partial work weeks. Missing a weekly claim can create major headaches.
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Liam Brown
•This is super helpful, thank you! Quick follow-up question - after this first partial week (which will be the waiting week), if he has another week with reduced hours, will he get the calculated partial payment for that second week? Or does ESD take a while to start paying benefits regardless?
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Isabella Martin
•Yes, he would receive the calculated partial payment for the second week (as long as his earnings don't exceed his weekly benefit amount). ESD typically processes payments within 2-3 business days after filing a weekly claim, assuming there are no issues requiring adjudication. The first payment after the waiting week should follow that normal timeline.
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Elijah Jackson
i think im on standby too but my claim says adjudication?? is that the same thing? sorry to hijack but im confused
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Isabella Martin
•No, adjudication means your claim has issues that need to be resolved before benefits can be paid. Standby status is an approval to not look for work while temporarily laid off. They're completely different things. You should contact ESD to find out what issues are causing your adjudication.
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Sophia Miller
Wait I'm confused about one thing. If your husband is in a union, does he automatically get the job search requirements waived? My brother is a union ironworker and I thought he still had to do the job search stuff when he claimed last year? Or maybe he wasn't doing something right?
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Olivia Garcia
•Union members aren't automatically exempt from job search requirements. They need to be on the union's out-of-work list AND the union needs to have an approved job search waiver agreement with ESD. Not all unions have this arrangement. Your brother's union might not have a job search waiver agreement in place, or he might not have properly notified ESD about his union status.
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GalaxyGazer
Just wanted to add from my experience - even though standby status doesn't eliminate the waiting week, it does make the whole process smoother once benefits start. I was on standby through my electrical union last winter and while I still had to serve the waiting week, I didn't have any of the usual hassles about proving I was looking for work. The key thing is making sure your union has submitted all the proper paperwork to ESD beforehand. Also, definitely keep filing those weekly claims even for partial work weeks - I made the mistake of skipping one thinking it wouldn't matter and it delayed my benefits by two weeks while they sorted it out.
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Ava Harris
•That's really good advice about not skipping weekly claims! I'm pretty new to all this unemployment stuff and wouldn't have thought that missing one week could cause such a delay. Did you have to do anything special to get it sorted out, or did ESD eventually figure it out on their own? Just want to be prepared in case we run into any issues.
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