How long does an unemployment appeal take in Washington?
My unemployment claim got denied two weeks ago and I filed an appeal right away. The Washington ESD notice said I was disqualified for 'voluntary quit without good cause' but that's not what happened - I left because my employer cut my hours to under 10 per week and wouldn't let me work my regular schedule. I submitted all my documentation and emails showing the hour cuts. Does anyone know how long these appeals usually take? I'm getting really stressed about money and need to know what to expect.
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AstroAce
Appeals can take anywhere from 6-12 weeks depending on how backed up they are. The good news is if you win your appeal, you'll get backpay for all the weeks you were denied.
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Omar Zaki
•12 weeks?? I can't wait that long without any income. Is there anything I can do to speed it up?
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AstroAce
•Unfortunately there's no way to expedite the process. Just make sure you keep filing your weekly claims even while the appeal is pending.
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Chloe Martin
I had an appeal last year and it took about 8 weeks. The hearing was done over the phone and lasted maybe 20 minutes. Make sure you have all your documentation organized - pay stubs showing the hour reduction, any emails or texts from your employer about the schedule changes.
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Omar Zaki
•Did you have to get a lawyer or anything? I'm worried I won't know what to say during the hearing.
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Chloe Martin
•No lawyer needed. The administrative law judge will ask you questions and your employer questions. Just stick to the facts and be honest about what happened.
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Diego Rojas
If you're having trouble getting through to Washington ESD to check on your appeal status, I recently discovered this service called Claimyr at claimyr.com that helps you actually reach a real person. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Might be worth checking out if you need updates on your case.
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Anastasia Sokolov
•Is that legit? Sounds too good to be true with how impossible it is to get through to anyone at Washington ESD.
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Diego Rojas
•Yeah it's real. I was skeptical too but it actually worked. Finally got to talk to someone about my adjudication that had been pending for weeks.
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Sean O'Donnell
Your situation sounds like constructive dismissal to me. When they cut your hours that drastically you basically had no choice but to quit. That should qualify as good cause under Washington law.
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Omar Zaki
•That's exactly what I tried to explain in my appeal! I hope the judge sees it that way.
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Zara Ahmed
•Make sure you emphasize that 10 hours a week isn't enough to live on and that the employer refused to give you your normal hours back.
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StarStrider
The appeals process is so frustrating. I'm dealing with something similar - got denied for misconduct when I was actually laid off. Filed my appeal 3 weeks ago and haven't heard anything yet.
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Omar Zaki
•That's awful! At least we're both in the same boat I guess. This whole system is broken.
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Sean O'Donnell
•Misconduct cases can be tricky. Do you have any documentation from your employer about the layoff?
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Luca Esposito
i won my appeal but it took forever like 10 weeks. keep calling to check status they wont update you automatically
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Omar Zaki
•Good to know someone actually won! Gives me hope. What was your case about if you don't mind me asking?
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Luca Esposito
•job abandonment but i had medical emergency and couldnt call in. had doctors note but they denied me anyway until appeal
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Chloe Martin
One thing to remember - even if your appeal takes a while, you should still be filing your weekly claims. If you win, you'll get paid for all those weeks retroactively. If you don't file them, you can't get paid for those weeks even if you win.
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Omar Zaki
•Wait, I have to keep filing weekly claims even though I'm denied? That seems weird.
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Chloe Martin
•Yes, you have to keep filing to preserve your right to those weeks. It's called 'filing under protest' or something like that.
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AstroAce
•Exactly right. Always keep filing even during appeals. This is really important!
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Zara Ahmed
For what it's worth, hour reduction cases usually have pretty good success rates on appeal. The key is proving that the hour cut was substantial enough that you couldn't reasonably be expected to continue.
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Omar Zaki
•That's encouraging! I went from 40 hours to under 10 so hopefully that's substantial enough.
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Zara Ahmed
•Oh yeah, that's definitely substantial. A 75% reduction in hours is pretty clear cut good cause for quitting.
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Anastasia Sokolov
The waiting is the worst part. I'm in week 7 of waiting for my appeal hearing and it's driving me crazy. At least they finally scheduled it for next week.
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Omar Zaki
•7 weeks! Did you get any notice about when yours was scheduled or did you have to call to find out?
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Anastasia Sokolov
•They mailed me a notice about the hearing date. Came about 2 weeks before the actual hearing.
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Diego Rojas
If you need to talk to someone at Washington ESD about your appeal timeline, that Claimyr service I mentioned earlier really does work. I used it twice now when I couldn't get through the regular phone lines.
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StarStrider
•How much does it cost? I'm already broke from being denied benefits.
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Diego Rojas
•I don't want to post specifics here but it's not expensive, especially compared to how much I was losing by not getting my benefits resolved.
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Nia Thompson
Make sure you're documenting everything during this process too. Keep records of when you filed the appeal, any correspondence you get, etc. Sometimes things get lost in the system.
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Omar Zaki
•Good point. I've been keeping everything in a folder. Should I make copies of everything too?
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Nia Thompson
•Definitely make copies. And if you have emails, print those out too. Never know when you might need them.
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Sean O'Donnell
The administrative law judges are usually pretty fair in my experience. They understand employment law and can see through employer BS. Your case sounds solid - hour reduction from 40 to 10 is textbook constructive dismissal.
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Omar Zaki
•I really hope you're right. I'm so nervous about the hearing but I know I'm in the right here.
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Chloe Martin
•Don't be nervous. Just tell your story clearly and have your documentation ready. That's all you can do.
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Mateo Rodriguez
ugh the whole unemployment system is such a mess. took them 3 months to process my initial claim and now appeals take forever too. meanwhile rent is due every month
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Omar Zaki
•Tell me about it. I'm already behind on bills and this is just making it worse.
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AstroAce
•I know it sucks but hang in there. If you win your appeal you'll get a nice chunk of backpay.
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Zara Ahmed
One more tip - when you have your hearing, be prepared to explain exactly why 10 hours a week wasn't sufficient. Talk about your living expenses, that it's below minimum wage equivalent for full-time work, etc.
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Omar Zaki
•That's really helpful advice. I'll make sure to calculate exactly how much I was making at 10 hours vs my expenses.
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Sean O'Donnell
•Good strategy. Show that it wasn't economically feasible to continue working at those reduced hours.
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Aisha Abdullah
I had a similar situation but with a different outcome. My employer cut my hours and I quit, but I lost my appeal because I didn't try to find other work first. Make sure you can explain why you couldn't just get a second job or something.
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Omar Zaki
•Oh no, that's scary. I did look for other work but nothing materialized quickly. Should I mention that?
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Aisha Abdullah
•Definitely mention any job searching you did. Shows you tried to mitigate the situation before quitting.
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Luca Esposito
keep your chin up. i know its stressful but appeals do work when you have a good case. sounds like yours is pretty strong
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Omar Zaki
•Thanks for the encouragement! I really need to hear that right now.
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Diego Rojas
Just as an update - I used Claimyr again yesterday to check on a different issue and actually got through to someone who could give me specific information about appeal processing times. They said current average is 8-10 weeks but it varies by case complexity.
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Omar Zaki
•That's really helpful information! At least now I have a better timeframe to plan around.
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Anastasia Sokolov
•I might have to try that service too. I've been playing phone tag with Washington ESD for weeks.
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AstroAce
Final thought - document everything about your old job while it's still fresh in your memory. Dates, times, who said what about the hour cuts. Details matter in these hearings.
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Omar Zaki
•Great advice. I'm going to write down everything I can remember tonight while it's still clear in my mind.
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Nia Thompson
•Yes, and if you have any coworkers who witnessed the situation, see if they'd be willing to provide statements or testimony.
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Ethan Wilson
Good luck with your appeal! Sounds like you have a solid case. The waiting is horrible but try to stay positive.
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Omar Zaki
•Thank you! This thread has been really helpful and encouraging. At least I know what to expect now.
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Chloe Martin
Keep us posted on how it goes! Always good to hear success stories to give hope to others going through the same thing.
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Omar Zaki
•I definitely will update when I hear something. Hopefully it'll be good news to share!
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