ESD appeal hearing Tuesday - need urgent advice on preparing!

I had an appeal hearing last month and won my case! Here's what helped me: 1. Write down your timeline of events with exact dates and keep it in front of you 2. Have all your evidence organized and numbered (screenshots of texts, emails, etc) 3. Practice explaining your side calmly - they hate when people get emotional 4. Send your evidence to the OAH before the hearing if possible 5. Be super respectful to the judge and don't interrupt anyone The judges are actually pretty fair in my experience. They're not ESD employees and they overturn a lot of denials. Just stick to facts and be honest.

i had one of these and LOST because i wasnt prepared!!!! the judge totally sided with my boss even though he was LYING. the whole system is rigged against us regular people. good luck but dont get your hopes up

Former ESD claims specialist here. For your specific situation (being terminated for tardiness), you need to focus on these key points: 1. You must establish that your tardiness was not deliberate misconduct but due to circumstances beyond your control (your car problems) 2. You should document how you communicated these issues to your employer at the time they occurred 3. You need to demonstrate you took reasonable steps to remedy the situation The ALJ will be looking specifically at whether your actions constitute "misconduct" under RCW 50.04.294, which includes certain standards of behavior reasonably expected in employment relationships. Isolated instances of ordinary negligence or inadvertence are NOT misconduct. Make sure to submit your text message evidence to OAH before the hearing by following the instructions on your hearing notice. You can typically email them. Also send copies to your former employer as required.

been thru 2 appeal hearings myself... won both times! the biggest thing is DONT TALK OVER ANYONE especially the judge. they record everything and it gets messy if people interrupt. also your employer will probably have an HR person or maybe even a lawyer so dont be surprised. just stay calm and answer exactly whats asked, dont ramble or get defensive even if they say things that arent true. wait your turn to respond good luck you got this!!

I struggled to reach ESD for weeks before my appeal hearing and it nearly cost me my case. I finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an ESD agent in under 25 minutes. They helped me understand exactly what documents I needed for my hearing and how to present them. Their video demo shows how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 The agent explained that for tardiness cases, they look at whether you had control over the situation and whether you properly communicated with your employer. Getting expert advice directly from ESD before my hearing made a huge difference.

One important thing nobody's mentioned: Washington is a one-party consent state for recording. It might help to record your own version of the hearing (just for your personal reference). Also, tardiness for documented car trouble shouldn't be considered misconduct - especially if you notified them each time. The legal standard for misconduct is pretty strict in WA state and generally requires willful disregard for the employer's interests. Make sure you emphasize that you made good-faith efforts to notify them each time and that these were isolated incidents due to circumstances beyond your control. Three instances in a month with documentation and notification shouldn't rise to the level of misconduct that disqualifies you from benefits.

Thank you all so much for the advice! I've spent today gathering my evidence (text messages showing I notified my boss about each incident, car repair receipts, and a timeline of events). I've emailed everything to OAH and my former employer as instructed in the hearing notice. I'm still nervous but feeling much better prepared. I'll practice explaining my side calmly tonight and make sure I don't interrupt anyone during the hearing. Really appreciate everyone who took the time to help!

my cousin had the EXACT same situation last year!!! he was late because of car problems and his boss fired him for it. at his hearing he showed the judge his mechanic bills and texts to his boss and won his case. the judge said being late because of car problems that you told your boss about is NOT misconduct!!!!!

Make sure you call in EARLY for your hearing!!!! I was literally 2 minutes late calling in and the judge marked me as a no-show. Had to appeal AGAIN and wait another month. The system is totally against us.