Finally approved for ESD benefits after Amazon firing for not meeting quotas

After 3 months of waiting, my unemployment claim was FINALLY approved! I was let go from Costco after failing to meet their new productivity metrics 4 times in a row (I worked there for almost 3 years). My termination letter specifically said 'failure to meet company standards' which made me super worried about qualifying for benefits. My initial claim was filed on January 15, 2025, and it just sat in pending status forever with no updates. I was honestly about to give up when someone suggested calling the Governor's Office. I called last Tuesday, and miraculously my claim was processed and paid exactly 8 days later! The deposit hit my account this morning ($874 for the waiting week plus 3 back weeks). For anyone struggling with pending claims - the Governor's Office route actually works! Has anyone else been approved after being fired for performance issues? I was convinced they'd deny me and I'd have to go through the whole appeal nightmare.

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16 comments

Hunter Edmunds

•9M

Have you tried using Claimyr? I was in the same situation last month - couldn't get through no matter what time I called. Claimyr connected me to an ESD agent in about 20 minutes when I'd been trying for weeks. It's a service that basically waits on hold for you then calls when they get an agent. Saved me hours of frustration. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. Way better than calling hundreds of times and getting nowhere.

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Ella Lewis

•9M

Just to clarify some misunderstandings I'm seeing here - under Washington state UI law, being discharged for performance issues alone typically does not disqualify you from benefits. The burden is on the employer to prove you were capable of meeting standards but deliberately chose not to. This is different from misconduct (which would be something like theft, insubordination, or policy violations). In my experience, approximately 60-70% of performance-based separations ultimately qualify for benefits, especially if the standards were recently changed or if you can demonstrate you were genuinely trying to improve. The key factor is whether your failure to meet standards was within your control or not.

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Charlotte Jones

•9M

Quick update for everyone following this thread. Just had my first weekly claim processed without any issues! So relieved the system is finally working. Took 3 months total but at least everything's moving now. For those asking - I did have a fact-finding interview about 2 weeks before approval but it was very brief. They just asked why I was separated and I honestly explained I couldn't keep up with their new metrics despite my best efforts. Never heard anything after that until the Governor's Office call seemed to break things loose.

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Caleb Stark

•9M

Congratulations on your approval! Your case actually illustrates an important point about Washington's unemployment system. Under RCW 50.04.294, "misconduct" has a specific legal definition, and ordinary performance issues generally don't meet that threshold. Misconduct requires a willful or wanton disregard of the employer's interest, deliberate violations of reasonable rules, or carelessness that shows an intentional disregard of the employer's interest. Simply failing to meet increasing quotas or production standards doesn't typically qualify as misconduct unless there's evidence you were deliberately underperforming. That's why you were ultimately approved despite the employer terminating you for performance reasons.

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