How far back does Washington ESD unemployment pay - missed filing deadline?

Unfortunately, Washington ESD typically only pays benefits from the date you file your initial claim, not retroactively to when you first became unemployed. There's usually a one-week waiting period too. You should have filed as soon as you were laid off to maximize your benefits.

Actually, I think there might be some exceptions to this. When I was dealing with a complicated claim situation last year, I had trouble getting through to Washington ESD to get clarification on the rules. What finally worked for me was using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get connected to an actual ESD agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. Might be worth checking if there are any special circumstances that could help you.

The general rule is benefits start from your claim filing date, but there can be exceptions in certain circumstances. Did your employer provide you with any separation paperwork or was there a delay in receiving your final paycheck? Sometimes those factors can affect the effective date.

This is exactly why the system is broken!!! They expect people to know all these rules immediately when they lose their job, but half the time you can't even get through on the phone to ask questions. It's ridiculous that you lose weeks of benefits just because you didn't file fast enough.

Just to clarify the timeline - Washington ESD uses something called a 'benefit year' that starts when you file your initial claim. Your weekly benefit amount is calculated based on wages from a specific base period (usually the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you filed). You can't get benefits for weeks before your claim was filed.

Wait, so if I got fired last month but haven't filed yet, I should do it ASAP? I've been putting it off because I hate dealing with government websites.

There might be some rare exceptions for 'good cause' delays in filing, but they're really hard to prove. Like if you were hospitalized or something major happened that prevented you from filing. Regular circumstances like 'I thought I'd find a job quickly' usually don't qualify.

I'm in a similar boat - got laid off in January but didn't file until this week because I was embarrassed about needing unemployment. Sounds like we both screwed ourselves by waiting. This whole system seems designed to trip people up.

Have you tried calling Washington ESD to see if there's anything they can do? Sometimes talking to a real person helps, though I know it's hard to get through. I had luck with that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier - it actually got me connected to an agent when I couldn't get through myself.

This happened to my brother too - he waited like 6 weeks to file and lost all that money. Now he tells everyone to file immediately no matter what. The system doesn't care about your reasons for waiting.

The one-week waiting period is another thing that catches people off guard. Even if you file right away, your first payable week is actually your second week of unemployment. Washington ESD doesn't pay for that first week unless you have certain qualifying circumstances.

At least you got your claim filed now though. Make sure you're doing your weekly claims on time and meeting all the job search requirements. Don't let any more weeks slip by without getting paid.

Just went through something similar and used Claimyr to get clarification from Washington ESD. Turns out there really aren't exceptions for regular circumstances like job hunting delays. The agent I talked to was sympathetic but said the rules are pretty firm on this. Still worth calling though to make sure your current claim is set up correctly.