How long does an employer have to appeal unemployment benefits in Washington?

Employers in Washington have 30 days from the date they receive the initial determination notice to file an appeal. If they missed that deadline, they need to show good cause for the late appeal. The fact that you've been collecting for 6 weeks suggests they might have filed right at the deadline or are filing a late appeal.

ugh employers are the worst about this stuff. mine tried to appeal too after firing me for 'attitude problems' when really i was just standing up for myself. took forever to get resolved

The 30-day rule is pretty strict in Washington. I've seen cases where employers tried to appeal months later and got denied because they couldn't prove good cause for the delay. If you've been collecting benefits, Washington ESD already made an initial determination in your favor. The employer's appeal will trigger a hearing where both sides can present evidence.

I had a similar situation last year and couldn't get through to Washington ESD to ask questions about the appeal process. The phone lines are impossible. I ended up using this service called Claimyr that helped me reach an actual person at Washington ESD to get answers about my case. You can check it out at claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works.

WAIT - are you sure you're still going to get paid during the appeal?? I thought they stopped payments when there's an appeal pending. This is exactly what I'm worried about with my own claim.

This is so typical. Companies fire people then try to block their unemployment just to be spiteful. The 30 day deadline exists for a reason - they can't just sit on it and appeal whenever they feel like it.

I work in HR and deal with unemployment appeals regularly. The 30-day deadline is firm unless there are exceptional circumstances. Most employers who wait this long either forgot about the deadline or are fishing for reasons to challenge valid claims. Your safety complaint history could be relevant to your case.

same thing happened to my friend except they appealed on day 29 like right at the deadline. still lost because they couldn't prove misconduct just poor performance

The timeline works like this: Washington ESD sends the determination notice to both you and your employer. The employer has 30 calendar days from the mail date on that notice to file their appeal. If they miss it, they need to file a petition for late appeal with good cause. After 1 year, even good cause won't help them.

I tried calling Washington ESD about my employer's appeal and spent literally 4 hours on hold before giving up. Anyone know if there's actually a way to reach someone there?

Question - if the employer appeals but it turns out they filed late without good cause, does that mean the original decision stands and I don't have to go through a hearing?

This whole system is designed to favor employers I swear. They get 30 days to think about whether they want to screw over their former employees and we just have to sit and wait.

Had my employer try to appeal after the deadline claiming they 'never received' the notice even though it was sent certified mail. Washington ESD didn't buy it and dismissed their appeal. Check if your employer's appeal was filed on time.

Wait I'm confused - is the 30 days from when Washington ESD mails the notice or from when the employer receives it? Because mail can take a few days...

Your situation with safety complaints could actually strengthen your case. If you can show you were fired in retaliation for reporting safety violations, that's wrongful termination territory and definitely not misconduct that would disqualify you from benefits.

my employer waited until day 30 exactly to file their appeal. i think they do it on purpose to stress people out and hope they'll give up or make mistakes

I'm dealing with the same anxiety about employer appeals. Been approved for 8 weeks and keep waiting for them to challenge it. The 30-day rule gives me some peace of mind that there's actually a deadline.

Just want to add that even if your employer's appeal goes forward, the hearing process is actually pretty straightforward. I represented myself in my hearing and won because I had documentation and the employer just had complaints without proof of actual misconduct.

For what it's worth, I used Claimyr when I needed to speak with someone at Washington ESD about appeal timelines and they were super helpful. Worth checking out if you need specific information about your case that you can't find online.

I'm new to this community but dealing with a similar situation. My employer just filed an appeal on what seems like day 29 or 30 - I'm not sure exactly when they received the notice but I've been collecting benefits for about 5 weeks. Reading through all these responses is really helpful, especially knowing that I should continue getting paid during the appeal process. I was panicking thinking the payments would stop immediately. Does anyone know if there's a way to check exactly when the initial determination notice was mailed to my employer? I want to see if they might have missed the 30-day deadline.