How often will someone receive an unemployment check from Washington ESD?

Thanks! So she needs to file something every single week? What happens if she misses a week?

Yes exactly, every week. If she misses filing a weekly claim she won't get paid for that week. She can usually file late claims but there might be delays.

Good to know about the timing! I'll tell her to set a reminder for Sundays.

wait i thought you had to file by saturday?? ive been doing it wrong

No you can file your weekly claim from Sunday through Saturday for the previous week. Most people do it Sunday morning though.

That makes sense. Do you know if there's a waiting period before the first payment?

Washington eliminated the waiting week in 2021, so she should get paid for her first week if she's eligible and files her weekly claim on time.

Interesting, I'll keep that in mind if Jill runs into issues. How does that work exactly?

It basically calls Washington ESD for you and gets you connected to an agent without sitting on hold. Saved me hours of trying to get through.

Never heard of that but might need to try it. Been trying to reach someone about my adjudication for 2 weeks.

Because they need to verify you're still unemployed and actively looking for work each week. It's required by federal law.

oh ok that makes more sense i guess. still annoying tho lol

Good point, I'll make sure she knows that. What counts as income that needs to be reported?

Any wages, tips, self-employment income, even odd jobs like babysitting or yard work if you get paid for it.

That's a good way to look at it. More predictable than monthly payments would be.

True but what if your claim gets stuck in adjudication? Then you don't get any payments for weeks.

Yeah that's definitely frustrating when it happens. At least with weekly claims you know right away if there's a problem rather than finding out after a month.

Oh wow, didn't know that. So keep filing even if you're not getting paid?

Exactly. Keep filing to maintain your claim while any issues get resolved.

I'll tell her to set up direct deposit then. Is that done when you first apply?

You can set it up during the application or add it later in your SecureAccess Washington account.

What counts as a job search activity?

Applying for jobs, networking events, career counseling, skills training, etc. Washington ESD has a list on their website.

yeah and keep records of everything. dates, company names, contact info. they're pretty strict about it

That doesn't sound too bad. I was imagining paperwork or something more complicated.

nah its all online now. way easier than it used to be

Good advice. What's the best way to reach them if needed?

Honestly, calling is a nightmare with their busy phone lines. That's why I ended up using Claimyr to get through when I had payment issues. Worth it to avoid the frustration.

Yeah the phone system is awful. You can also try their secure messaging system but responses can be slow.

Thanks everyone! This has been really helpful. I'll pass all this info along to Jill.

Good luck to her! The system works if you stay on top of it.

I'll mention that to her. Is that something she has to sign up for separately?

Yeah it's a separate registration but Washington ESD will tell you about it during the application process.

That's reassuring to hear. Sounds like once she gets into the routine it should work smoothly.

Exactly. Just don't miss filing your weekly claims and you should be fine.

Good to know! I'll tell her to have a backup plan for filing.

Yeah and don't wait until Saturday night to file. Give yourself time in case there are technical issues.