ESD unemployment payment confusion after 3-day job and termination - will I get full benefits?

You should get your full unemployment benefits back as long as you reported everything correctly. When you file your weekly claim and report zero hours/earnings, the system should automatically process your regular benefit amount. As for the 3 days of work, the employer is legally required to pay you regardless of whether they collected your ID or SS card. They likely have your SSN from your application or W-4. If you don't receive a paycheck within 2-3 weeks, contact WA Labor & Industries.

ya this happened to me last year!! my benefits went right back to normal the next week when i reported no work. but make sure u answer the "did u get fired" question correctly or ull get stuck in adjutication hell for like 6 weeks

The system is DESIGNED to trip you up! When you report being fired, they automatically flag your account for adjudication review and FREEZE your payments while some ESD bureaucrat takes WEEKS to decide if you qualify. Meanwhile bills pile up and they couldn't care less!!

To clarify a few things here: 1) If you were let go from the job for reasons other than misconduct, you should answer "Yes" to the question about being fired/laid off and then provide a brief explanation. This will likely trigger an adjudication process, but it's important to be truthful. 2) Your employer is required by law to pay you for those 3 days worked regardless of whether they collected your ID documents. They should have your SSN from your I-9 form or application. 3) Your UI benefits should automatically revert to the full amount once you report zero earnings, but the separation issue might need to be resolved first. 4) If your claim gets stuck in adjudication, you may need to contact ESD directly to explain the situation.

If u get stuck in adjudication try using Claimyr to reach an ESD agent (claimyr.com). I was in adjudication for almost 3 weeks and couldn't get through on the phones, but with their service I got connected to an agent in about 30 minutes who cleared up my issue. There's a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. Was totally worth it to get my payments going again instead of waiting forever.

make sure u check ur eServices messages regularly some times they send u questions there and if u dont answer in like 5 days u get disqualified and have to appeal and thats a whole other headache

About the 3-day job: since they already let you go, you should contact them ASAP to make sure they have your correct mailing address for your final paycheck and W-2. Washington law requires them to pay you by the next regular payday after termination. If they don't have your SSN, they'll still need to pay you, but they might withhold a higher tax percentage.

To address your concern about adjudication: If your claim enters adjudication, you should continue filing weekly claims even though payments may be paused. If the adjudication resolves in your favor, you'll receive all back payments for those weeks. For the short job situation, ESD typically looks at whether the separation was your fault (misconduct) or not. If you were let go because the position wasn't a good fit or for performance reasons that don't rise to the level of misconduct, your benefits should continue. Temporary jobs that end as expected usually don't disrupt benefits eligibility.

My cousin went through something similar last year when she got hired at a warehouse but it didn't work out. She said the key was being super specific when explaining why the job ended. Don't just say "it didn't work out" - say exactly what happened like "the employer stated I wasn't meeting their training benchmarks" or whatever the actual reason was.

Don't expect anything to happen QUICKLY with ESD! Even if you're 100% eligible, if your claim hits adjudication, they'll make you WAIT and WAIT while they "review" your case. Meanwhile your landlord doesn't care about ESD's timeline!!! The whole system is broken!

One last thing to check: look at your monetary determination letter (should be in your eServices account). This shows your benefit year end date. As long as you're within your benefit year, have available benefit weeks remaining, and haven't earned wages that would establish a new claim, your benefits should continue at the previously established weekly benefit amount after reporting the brief employment period.