ESD payment delays after benefit year end - new waiting week despite prior approval?

Seriously?? Nobody told me this would happen. The ESD rep I spoke with made it sound like everything would continue normally after they approved my extension. Why wouldn't they warn people about this gap??

The ESD website actually does mention this, but it's buried in their FAQs section. Most representatives don't proactively warn claimants about it because they assume everyone reads all the fine print when they apply initially. I've been helping people with unemployment issues for years, and this waiting week after BYE catches almost everyone by surprise.

While I understand the frustration, there is somewhat of a technical reason for this. When your benefit year ends, they have to verify your eligibility again, review your base year wages, and essentially process a new claim. The waiting week is mandated by state law - ESD staff don't have the authority to waive it except during special circumstances (like they did during parts of the pandemic). One tip: make sure you've filed your weekly claims during this gap period even though you won't get paid for the waiting week. This ensures your claim remains active and subsequent weeks process normally.

Good advice about calling, but reaching ESD by phone is nearly impossible these days. I tried for two weeks straight when my claim had issues last month. After getting nowhere with the regular line, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual ESD agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 The agent was able to explain exactly what was happening with my claim and gave me a timeline for when payments would resume. Knowing exactly what was happening helped me make arrangements with my landlord while I waited.

They generally won't waive the waiting week - it's a statutory requirement unless there's an emergency proclamation in effect (which there isn't currently). However, calling can help ensure there aren't any additional issues delaying your claim beyond the waiting week. Sometimes there are identity verification or adjudication issues that pop up during the transition that you wouldn't know about otherwise.

Yes, it would happen each time your benefit year expires and you establish a new claim. However, remember that in Washington, regular UI benefits typically have a maximum duration of 26 weeks within a benefit year. To qualify for a new claim year, you would need to have worked and earned qualifying wages since the beginning of your previous claim. Extensions like EB (Extended Benefits) follow different rules, but the basic principle remains - new claim years require another waiting week.

Yes, unfortunately it does. Even with standby status, the benefit year end triggers the same process - you'll need to reestablish your claim and serve another waiting week. Make sure your employer updates your standby status for the new benefit year if needed. The standby approval doesn't automatically carry over.

Update: I was able to get through to ESD using that Claimyr service someone mentioned. The agent confirmed everything people said here - the waiting week is required by law and can't be waived. She did verify that everything else on my claim looks good though, so payments should resume normally after the waiting week. She also helped me adjust my payment method to direct deposit instead of the debit card to speed things up in the future. Still frustrated about the gap, but at least I know exactly what's happening now.