Does workers' comp count as income for Washington ESD unemployment benefits?

Workers' compensation payments are NOT considered wages for unemployment purposes in Washington. However, you need to be available for work to qualify for UI benefits. If your injury prevents you from working, you might not meet the able and available requirement.

I was in a similar situation last year. The tricky part is proving you're available for work while on workers' comp. Washington ESD will want documentation from your doctor about what kind of work you can do.

This is actually pretty complicated because you have to meet both the monetary eligibility for UI and the work search requirements. If you're limited in what work you can do because of your injury, Washington ESD might question whether you're truly available for work.

ugh this is so confusing! I tried calling Washington ESD about this exact thing last month and could never get through. Their phone system is impossible. Does anyone know a better way to get actual answers from them?

just went through this myself. workers comp doesnt count as wages but you still gotta do job searches and be available for work. the main thing is making sure your restrictions dont make you unemployable

The Washington ESD manual specifically states that workers' compensation benefits are not deductible from unemployment benefits. But like others said, the real issue is the availability requirement. You need to register with WorkSourceWA and actively search for work within your restrictions.

Wait so if I'm getting workers comp I can still get unemployment? I thought it was one or the other??

Be prepared for your claim to go into adjudication. When you have workers' comp involved, Washington ESD usually needs to review everything to make sure you meet the availability requirements. It's not automatic denial but they'll investigate.

The KEY thing everyone's missing is that you need to report your work restrictions on your weekly claim. There's a section where you indicate if anything limits the work you can do. Always mark that and explain your restrictions.

honestly the whole system is a mess. i got workers comp for a back injury and it took me 2 months to get my UI sorted out because nobody could give me straight answers

Pro tip: get a letter from your doctor that specifically states what type of work you CAN do, not just what you can't do. Washington ESD wants to see that you're available for some type of work, even if it's limited.

I work at a law firm that handles workers comp cases and see this a lot. The workers comp payments definitely don't count as wages for UI purposes, but you need to be super careful about documenting your job search efforts within your restrictions.

check the washington esd website under the handbook section. theres specific info about workers comp and ui benefits. saved me a lot of confusion when i was dealing with this

One thing that helped me was using Claimyr to actually talk to a Washington ESD agent about my specific situation. The website is claimyr.com and they got me connected to someone who could explain exactly how my workers comp affected my UI claim. Way better than trying to guess from the website.

Don't forget that if you're receiving workers comp, you might also need to report any return-to-work attempts to both systems. If your employer offers you light duty work, that could affect both your workers comp and UI eligibility.

made the mistake of not reporting my work restrictions properly and my claim got flagged for investigation. took forever to sort out. be upfront about everything from the start

The bottom line is workers comp ≠ wages for UI purposes, but availability for work is still required. Document everything, be honest about restrictions, and keep looking for suitable work. Most people can make both work together if they follow the rules.

Another option if you're having trouble reaching Washington ESD directly is using that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier. They have a video demo that shows exactly how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ. Might be worth checking out if you need to talk to an actual person about your specific workers comp situation.

Just want to add that timing matters too. If you're already receiving workers comp when you file for UI, make sure to mention that on your initial application. It's better to be upfront than have them discover it later and question your honesty.