How do you stop Washington ESD unemployment when you find a job - confused about process
I just accepted a job offer that starts Monday and I'm not sure what I need to do to stop my unemployment benefits properly. Do I need to call Washington ESD or is there something I can do online? I don't want to mess this up and end up with an overpayment issue later. My last weekly claim was filed yesterday for this week. Should I file next week's claim since I'll be working or just stop filing completely? Really nervous about doing this wrong.
45 comments


Madison King
Congratulations on the new job! You need to report your return to work on your next weekly claim. Don't just stop filing - that can cause issues. When you file your weekly claim, there's a section where you report work and earnings. Make sure to report your start date and any wages earned.
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Vanessa Chang
•Thank you! So I should still file next week even though I'll be working the whole week?
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Madison King
•Yes, file the claim and report all your work hours and gross wages. Washington ESD will automatically close your claim when you report full-time work.
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Julian Paolo
make sure you report EVERYTHING correctly because they will find out later when they match your wages with employers. better to over-report than under-report
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Vanessa Chang
•That's exactly what I'm worried about. I've heard horror stories about overpayment notices years later.
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Ella Knight
If you can't get through to Washington ESD by phone to ask questions about reporting your return to work, there's actually a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that can help you reach an agent faster. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. I used it when I had questions about my claim status and got through same day instead of trying for weeks.
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William Schwarz
•How much does something like that cost? Seems like we shouldn't have to pay to talk to a state agency.
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Ella Knight
•I get the frustration but honestly it was worth it for me. Way better than spending hours on hold just to get disconnected.
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Lauren Johnson
DONT STOP FILING UNTIL THEY TELL YOU TO STOP. I made that mistake and it created a whole mess with my account that took months to fix.
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Vanessa Chang
•Oh no, what happened exactly? I want to avoid whatever you went through.
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Lauren Johnson
•I thought I was being responsible by just stopping when I got hired but then they flagged my account for not filing required claims. Had to do a whole appeal process.
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Jade Santiago
You'll file your weekly claim like normal but report your work hours and wages. If you work full-time hours (usually 40+ hours), Washington ESD will automatically close your claim. Keep all your employment documentation just in case.
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Vanessa Chang
•Should I keep filing even after they close it, or will they send me something saying to stop?
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Jade Santiago
•Once they close your claim, you won't be able to file weekly claims anymore. Your online account will show the closure status.
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Caleb Stone
congratulations!! what kind of job did you find? im still looking and getting discouraged
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Vanessa Chang
•Thanks! It's an office admin position. Hang in there, it took me 3 months but something finally came through.
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Caleb Stone
•that gives me hope, ive been searching for 2 months now
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Madison King
One important thing - make sure you report your GROSS wages, not net. That's before taxes and deductions. And report for the week you actually worked, not the week you get paid.
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Vanessa Chang
•Good point about gross vs net. I would have probably reported the wrong amount.
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Daniel Price
same thing happened to me last year. the system is pretty automatic once you report full time work. just be honest about everything and you'll be fine
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Vanessa Chang
•That's reassuring to hear from someone who went through it recently.
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Ella Knight
If you need to talk to someone at Washington ESD about the specifics of your situation, that Claimyr service I mentioned earlier really does work well. Much easier than trying to get through on your own.
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Olivia Evans
•I was skeptical about services like that but honestly the ESD phone system is so broken. Might be worth trying.
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Julian Paolo
whatever you do dont try to be clever and not report work thinking you can get a few extra weeks of benefits. they WILL catch it and then youll owe money back with penalties
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Vanessa Chang
•Definitely not trying to do anything shady. I just want to make sure I follow the right process.
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Sophia Bennett
The main thing is to file your weekly claim on time and report accurately. Washington ESD's system will handle closing your claim automatically when you report sufficient work hours.
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Vanessa Chang
•Ok that makes sense. So the system is smart enough to know when to close things out.
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Aiden Chen
i had the same worry when i started my job. turned out to be way easier than i thought. just report everything truthfully
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Vanessa Chang
•Good to hear it's not as complicated as I'm making it in my head.
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Jade Santiago
Also keep in mind that if your job doesn't work out for some reason, you can potentially reopen your claim. Don't throw away any of your unemployment paperwork right away.
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Vanessa Chang
•That's good advice. I hope it doesn't come to that but better to be prepared.
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Zoey Bianchi
make sure your employer knows your start date too because washington esd will verify employment info with them eventually
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Vanessa Chang
•Yes, everything is all set with HR. Start date is definitely Monday.
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Lauren Johnson
The key thing is COMMUNICATE with Washington ESD through the proper channels. Don't just disappear from the system.
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Vanessa Chang
•Right, that makes sense. Better to over-communicate than under-communicate.
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Ella Knight
For anyone else reading this who needs to reach Washington ESD quickly about employment reporting or other issues, I really can't recommend Claimyr enough. Saved me so much time and frustration.
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Christopher Morgan
•Just looked at their video demo and that actually looks pretty straightforward. Might try it for my adjudication issue.
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Aurora St.Pierre
sounds like you got good advice here. main thing is file your claim with work reported and let the system do its job
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Vanessa Chang
•Yeah, I feel much better about the process now. Thanks everyone!
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Grace Johnson
Good luck with the new job! The unemployment reporting process is actually pretty straightforward once you know what to do.
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Vanessa Chang
•Thank you! I was overthinking it but everyone here has been really helpful.
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Madison King
One last tip - keep a record of when you reported your return to work, just in case there are any questions later. Screenshots of your weekly claim submission can be helpful.
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Vanessa Chang
•Great idea. I'll make sure to save screenshots of everything.
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Jayden Reed
youll be fine just follow the process everyone laid out here. washington esd makes it seem scarier than it actually is
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Vanessa Chang
•Thanks for the reassurance. Really appreciate everyone taking the time to help.
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