How do I claim my waiting week for unemployment with Washington ESD?

I've checked my payment history multiple times and I only see payments for weeks 2-6. Week 1 just shows 'waiting week - no payment due' or something like that.

That's weird, mine showed up automatically after week 4. Maybe there's a glitch in the system?

I've tried calling Washington ESD multiple times but can never get through. The phone lines are always busy and I either get disconnected or sit on hold for hours.

Same here! I've been trying to reach them for weeks about a different issue. The hold times are absolutely ridiculous.

Is that legit? Sounds too good to be true. How much does it cost?

Yeah it's real. I used it last month when I had an adjudication issue. They don't post prices on the site but it was worth it to actually talk to someone at Washington ESD instead of wasting entire days calling.

I might have to try this. I'm getting desperate to get this waiting week issue resolved.

Good point. I'll double check my bank statements and make sure my direct deposit info is correct in the system.

Also check if there are any 'pending' payments in your account that might not have been released yet.

How did you finally get it resolved? Did you have to call or was there another way?

i had to call like 50 times over 2 weeks before i got through to someone who could actually help. they said the waiting week was 'flagged for review' but nobody had actually reviewed it lol. took them 5 minutes to release the payment once i got the right person

The waiting week requirement was waived during the pandemic but it was reinstated in 2023. So if you filed your claim recently, you do have to serve a waiting week but it gets paid out after 4 weeks of receiving benefits.

Thanks for clarifying that. The constant rule changes make it impossible to know what's current.

What kind of mistake was it? I'm wondering if I might have made a similar error.

I had incorrectly reported some part-time work hours on week 3. I put down 20 hours when it should have been 15. Small mistake but apparently it triggered some kind of review process.

Hmm, I don't think I made any mistakes like that but I'll go back and double check all my weekly claims.

I've been keeping up with my job searches and logging them properly. But I'll double check that everything is current in WorkSource.

Good call. I know someone who had their benefits held up because their WorkSource profile was missing some required information even though they were actively job searching.

Seriously! You'd think in 2025 they could figure out how to make these systems work smoothly.

I get the frustration but complaining doesn't help solve the problem. OP needs practical solutions right now.

That's encouraging to hear. Makes me feel better about trying that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier.

Yeah, that's exactly why I recommend it. Once you actually get connected to an agent, these issues usually get resolved quickly. It's just the getting connected part that's impossible.

I tried that for a different issue and never got a response after 3 weeks. Phone is really the only way to get quick help.

Yeah I've heard the online inquiries can take forever. I need this resolved sooner than that.

Okay you've convinced me. If multiple people are saying it works, maybe it's worth trying.

Same here. I think I'm going to give it a shot this week. This waiting week issue has been driving me crazy.

I'll check that right now. Thanks for the tip!

Good suggestion. The Washington ESD website layout can be confusing and payments sometimes show up in unexpected places.

Still working on it. I checked all the suggestions here and couldn't find the payment anywhere in my account. Planning to try Claimyr tomorrow to actually get through to someone at Washington ESD.

Let me know how that goes! I might need to do the same thing.

Following this thread too. Same situation here - been getting regular benefits for 5 weeks but no waiting week payment.