How do I end my unemployment claim with Washington ESD - found full time work

Congratulations on the new job! You should file your final weekly claim for the week you start working and report your first day of work. This officially closes your claim and prevents any overpayment issues. Don't just stop filing without reporting the work - that can cause problems later.

Yes, definitely file that final weekly claim! I made the mistake of just stopping when I got hired and Washington ESD kept my claim open for months. Had to deal with a whole mess of paperwork later when they wanted to know why I stopped filing. Always better to close it out properly through the system.

If you're having trouble getting through to Washington ESD to ask questions about ending your claim, I recently discovered this service called Claimyr that helps you actually connect with ESD agents by phone. They have this system that calls for you and gets you through the busy signals. Check out claimyr.com - they even have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Might be worth it if you need to speak to someone directly about closing your claim properly.

Make sure you keep track of your last day of unemployment and first day of work. Washington ESD is pretty strict about dates and if there's any confusion it can trigger an overpayment investigation. I always recommend taking screenshots of your final claim submission too.

wait so if I work one day during my claim week do I still get some unemployment? I thought it was all or nothing

I'm in a similar situation but my new job doesn't start for another two weeks. Do I keep filing weekly claims until then or stop now that I've accepted the position?

Does anyone know if there's a waiting period before you can file for unemployment again if you lose this new job? Just trying to plan ahead since it's a probationary position.

THE SYSTEM IS SO CONFUSING!!! Why can't they just make it simple - if you're working full time you don't get benefits, if you're not working you do. All these partial payment calculations and reporting requirements are ridiculous.

Pro tip: log into your ESD account online and look for any messages or notifications before filing your final claim. Sometimes they have specific instructions or questions that need to be answered when you're ending your claim.

Congrats on the job! I remember being so nervous about messing up the final claim when I got hired. But honestly if you just report everything accurately and file that last weekly claim, you'll be fine. Washington ESD gets thousands of people ending claims every week - it's a normal process.

One thing to watch out for - if your new employer offers any kind of signing bonus or relocation assistance, that might need to be reported too. I'm not 100% sure on the rules but anything that could be considered income should probably be mentioned.

I used that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier when I had questions about ending my claim. Actually got through to an ESD agent in like 20 minutes instead of calling for hours. They were able to walk me through exactly what to put on my final weekly claim. Definitely worth it if you're unsure about anything.

Quick question - do I need to keep doing job search activities for that final week even though I'm starting work? Seems pointless but don't want to get dinged for not meeting requirements.

This thread is super helpful! I'm bookmarking it because I'm expecting a job offer next week and will probably need to go through this same process soon. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences.

Don't forget to update your WorkSource profile too if you've been using that for job searches. You'll want to mark yourself as employed so you stop getting contacted about job opportunities.

For anyone else reading this - make SURE you understand your new employer's payroll schedule before filing that final claim. If you start work on Monday but don't get paid until the following Friday, that affects how you report earnings.

Stupid question but when they ask for your last day of unemployment, is that the day before you start work or your last day of actually receiving benefits? I always get confused by the wording.

This whole process seems way more complicated than it needs to be. I'm going to try that Claimyr thing someone mentioned just to make sure I don't screw anything up. Better safe than sorry when it comes to potential overpayments.

Thanks for posting this question OP! I'm in the exact same boat - just got hired and was stressed about how to properly end my claim. This thread has been super informative and now I feel confident about filing my final weekly claim correctly.

Just wanted to add one more important tip - make sure to keep all your documentation from your job search and final claim filing for at least a year after you close your claim. I had Washington ESD audit my claim 8 months after I ended it (they do random audits) and I was so glad I had kept all my records. Screenshots of your final weekly claim, copies of job search logs, documentation of your start date, etc. It only took them a few days to clear the audit because I had everything organized, but without those records it could have been a nightmare.