Does Washington ESD contact your employer every week during unemployment claims?

That's a relief! I was worried they'd be calling my old manager every week asking about me.

Yeah they're not that intrusive, they have better things to do than bug employers constantly

Good to know! So as long as everything is straightforward with my claim, they shouldn't be bothered much.

What if you got fired though? Do they contact them more often then?

If you were terminated, there might be more back-and-forth during the adjudication process to determine if it was for misconduct or just cause.

I used Claimyr to get through to Washington ESD when I couldn't reach them on my own. It's a service that calls and waits in line for you, then connects you when an agent picks up. Check out claimyr.com - they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows exactly how it works.

Never heard of that but I'm desperate at this point. Does it actually work?

Yeah it worked for me. Saved me hours of redialing and getting busy signals.

Tell me about it. The website is impossible to navigate and you can never get anyone on the phone.

The system is definitely not user-friendly, but the basic process is pretty standardized once you understand it.

If you were laid off for legitimate business reasons, your employer has no incentive to sabotage your claim. They already paid into the unemployment insurance system.

I guess you're right. I'm probably overthinking this whole thing.

I had the same worry but my former boss actually wished me luck when Washington ESD called to verify my layoff.

That makes sense. I bet HR departments deal with this stuff all the time anyway.

yeah my last job had people getting laid off all the time so they probably know the drill

They don't typically contact part-time employers unless there's a discrepancy in your reported wages versus what gets reported to the state by the employer.

Good to know. I might pick up some part-time work soon and didn't want to cause problems.

Yeah that makes sense. They probably have thousands of claims to process.

Exactly, they're not micromanaging every single case unless there's a red flag somewhere.

That's reassuring. My situation is pretty straightforward so hopefully no issues.

What triggers a fraud investigation? Now I'm worried about that too.

Usually things like not reporting work income, claiming benefits while out of state without permission, or lying about your job search activities.

How long did that take to resolve?

About 6 weeks total. It was stressful but they eventually ruled in my favor.

6 weeks?! I can't wait that long for my claim to get sorted out. Maybe I should try that Claimyr thing someone mentioned earlier.

Exactly right. The quarterly wage reporting system handles most of the verification automatically.

That's actually pretty smart. No wonder they don't need to call every week.

Same here! I was convinced I was doing something wrong but it was actually pretty straightforward once I got the hang of it.

the anxiety is real though. when you need the money you overthink everything

It's nice that you could ask them directly. I wasn't sure if that would be awkward.

It was a little weird but they were understanding. Layoffs happen and they know people need unemployment benefits.

That's a good point. I never thought about it that way.

Yeah, unless you did something really bad to get fired, most employers won't contest your unemployment claim.

That's really helpful to know from someone on the employer side. Thanks!

What kind of stuff do they usually ask about when they do contact you?

Usually just verifying employment dates, wages, and reason for separation. Pretty routine stuff.

Perfect, that's exactly what I was hoping to hear. Thanks for sharing your experience!

How do you know they haven't contacted your employer? Did you ask them?

My former supervisor is a friend and she mentioned they only called once at the beginning to verify my layoff.

Makes sense. I guess I was imagining way more human involvement in the process than there actually is.

same here, i thought there were people manually reviewing every single claim every week

I keep hearing about this Claimyr service. Is it legit or is it some kind of scam?

It's legit. They don't ask for any personal info, just your phone number so they can call you back when they get through to Washington ESD.

I might have to try that. I've been calling for days and getting nowhere.

Thanks everyone for all the info! I feel much better about this whole process now.

No problem! This forum has been really helpful for me too when I was figuring all this stuff out.