Has anyone you know ever claimed Washington ESD unemployment benefits? What was the experience like?

Filed last year when I got laid off from my retail job. The initial application wasn't too bad honestly - took maybe 30 minutes online. The weekly claims are pretty straightforward once you get the hang of it. Just have to report any work you did and wages earned that week. The job search requirement is 3 contacts per week which isn't terrible. My benefits started coming in about 2 weeks after I filed.

My sister went through it recently and it was a nightmare. Her claim got stuck in adjudication for like 6 weeks because there was some confusion about her last day of work. She couldn't get through to anyone at Washington ESD on the phone - just busy signals or long holds that would disconnect. Super frustrating process.

I've helped several family members through the Washington ESD process over the years. The key things to know: 1) File as soon as possible after your last day of work 2) Keep detailed records of your job search activities 3) Always file your weekly claims on time even if you haven't heard back about your initial claim 4) Be completely honest about why you left your job. Most issues I've seen come from people not understanding the requirements or missing deadlines.

AVOID IT IF YOU CAN. I'm 8 weeks into waiting for my benefits and still haven't seen a dime. My claim is in adjudication hell and nobody at Washington ESD will tell me what's going on. I've called hundreds of times and either get disconnected or told they can't help me. Meanwhile my bills are piling up and I'm basically screwed. The system is completely broken.

I claimed benefits twice - once in 2019 and again in 2023. The process has definitely gotten better over the years. The online system is much more user-friendly now. In 2019 I had to mail in paper forms, but now everything is digital. The biggest tip I can give is to read all the instructions carefully and don't rush through the application.

My experience was mixed. The good: benefits were decent and helped me get by for 4 months while job hunting. The bad: the job search requirements felt like busy work sometimes, and the weekly claims can be confusing if you do any part-time work. Overall though I'm glad I filed - it gave me breathing room to find a good job instead of taking the first thing that came along.

honestly it depends on ur situation. if u got fired its gonna be way more complicated than if u got laid off. i got laid off and it was pretty smooth. took like 2 weeks and then i was getting payments. the weekly thing is annoying but not hard just gotta remember to do it every week

One thing I forgot to mention - definitely sign up for direct deposit if you can. Getting paper checks takes forever and they sometimes get lost in the mail. Direct deposit is much more reliable.

I helped my mom file for unemployment last year when she got laid off at 58. It was actually not as scary as we thought it would be. The Washington ESD website walks you through everything step by step. The hardest part was gathering all the employment information from her last 18 months of work. Once we had all that organized, the actual filing took about 45 minutes.

UPDATE: Finally got through to someone at Washington ESD using that Claimyr thing someone mentioned. Turns out there was an issue with my employer's response that was holding up my claim. The rep was able to push it through and I should see my backpay within a week. Wish I had known about this service months ago instead of wasting all that time calling.

My husband filed for unemployment benefits when his company downsized last spring. The process itself was straightforward, but the waiting was nerve-wracking. We didn't know if we'd qualify or how much we'd get until the first payment came through. The weekly claims became routine after a few weeks though.

also just fyi the benefit amount depends on how much u were making before. i think its like 60% of ur average weekly wage or something like that. they send u a letter that breaks it all down once ur approved

One more important thing - make sure you understand the able and available requirements. You have to be physically able to work and available for work to receive benefits. This means you can't go on vacation without reporting it, and you need to be actively looking for work. Some people get tripped up on this.

I was really worried about the job search requirements because I thought it would be hard to find 3 activities every week. But there are actually lots of things that count - applying online, going to job fairs, even updating your LinkedIn profile counts as networking. It's not as restrictive as I thought.

The key is just being prepared and honest. I see people get in trouble because they try to hide things or don't report income properly. Washington ESD has access to wage databases so they'll find out anyway. Better to be upfront about everything from the start.

One last piece of advice - save copies of everything. Every form you submit, every confirmation number, every letter they send you. If there are any issues later, having good records will save you a lot of headaches.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful responses! I feel much more confident about filing now. Sounds like as long as I'm prepared and honest about everything, it should be manageable. I'll definitely keep that Claimyr service in mind if I run into any issues getting through to Washington ESD. Really appreciate all the advice!