How long does an employer have to respond to an unemployment claim in Washington ESD?

Thanks! So if it's been a week, I still have a few more days to wait before anything happens?

Exactly. Give it the full 10 business days, then maybe a few extra days for processing if they don't contest it.

That's reassuring! I was getting stressed thinking they could hold it up indefinitely.

Late responses from employers actually work in your favor most of the time. Washington ESD has deadlines for a reason.

I used this service called Claimyr recently - claimyr.com - they actually got me through to a Washington ESD agent in like 20 minutes. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. Way better than spending hours redialing.

What exactly is adjudication? I keep seeing that term but don't really understand what it means for my claim.

Adjudication is when Washington ESD has to investigate and make a decision about your eligibility. It happens when there's conflicting information between you and your employer about why you left your job.

Ugh adjudication is the WORST. Mine took 6 weeks last time because my employer made up some BS about me being fired for cause.

So they could still cause problems even after the 10 days are up?

They can provide additional information if Washington ESD requests it, but they can't initiate a new contest after missing the initial deadline.

That's good to know from the employer side. Do you think most employers bother to contest or do they usually just let it go?

Honestly, it depends on the circumstances. For layoffs, most employers don't contest because they know the employee will likely qualify. For terminations, it's more likely they'll respond.

As an HR person, can you tell us what kind of documentation employers typically send when they do contest?

If it's been 2 weeks (10 business days), you can definitely try calling. Though good luck getting through - I've been trying for days myself.

Two weeks means the response period has passed. Your claim should move forward soon if your employer didn't contest it.

That would trigger an adjudication where Washington ESD investigates. You'd get a chance to provide your side of the story and any documentation you have.

This happened to me! I had to send in my layoff paperwork and emails to prove I wasn't fired. Washington ESD sided with me in the end but it took a month.

A whole month?? That's so stressful when you need the money to pay bills.

Small businesses sometimes miss these deadlines because they don't have dedicated HR staff to handle unemployment claims. It actually works in your favor if they don't respond.

My friend worked for a tiny company and they never responded to his unemployment claim. He got approved no problem.

Your eServices account won't show employer responses directly, but you might see status changes or requests for additional information if they contested your claim.

I wish Washington ESD's system was more transparent about this stuff. You're basically left guessing what's happening behind the scenes.

That's great news! Gives me hope for my own claim. How long did it take for the approval to show up in your account?

It showed up the same day I got the approval letter. Make sure you keep filing your weekly claims even while waiting!

How much does something like that cost? I'm already strapped for cash waiting for my benefits.

I'd rather not get into specific costs here, but for me it was worth it to get answers instead of staying in limbo. Check out their site if you're interested.

Seriously! Why don't they just put this information clearly on their website or in the initial claim confirmation?

Because then people might actually understand the process and not panic call them 50 times a day lol

That's reassuring. I keep worrying that my old boss will try to mess with my claim out of spite.

Washington ESD has heard every employer excuse in the book. They're pretty good at sorting out legitimate contests from employers just being difficult.

This is really helpful to hear from someone who just went through it! I've been keeping all my paperwork organized just in case, but it's good to know that even contested claims can still get approved. Did the whole process take much longer once they contested it, or was it still pretty reasonable timing?