How soon to file for unemployment - Washington ESD timing questions

Thanks! I was worried I'd mess something up by filing too early. Going to do it today then.

Yeah definitely file now. I waited like a week when I got laid off and regretted it because you can't backdate claims in Washington.

Perfect timing advice, thank you! Do I need any other documents besides my social security card?

You'll need your employer's name, address, and dates of employment. Having your last pay stub helps too for wage verification.

That makes sense. So the vacation pay just affects one weekly claim, not my whole eligibility?

Exactly! It's just for that one week. After that you should get your regular benefit amount assuming you meet all the other requirements.

I had the same problem trying to reach them by phone. Someone on here mentioned claimyr.com - it's a service that calls Washington ESD for you and gets you connected to an actual agent. I tried it last week and it worked great, got through in like 10 minutes. There's a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works.

Never heard of that but I'm desperate at this point. Will check it out, thanks!

Claimyr actually works? I've been skeptical of anything that says it can get you through to Washington ESD faster.

I was skeptical too but it really did work for me. Way better than spending hours redialing the regular number.

6 weeks?? That's terrifying. How did you survive financially during that time?

Had to borrow money from family. It was rough. That's why filing immediately is so important - every day counts.

Is the online application pretty straightforward? I'm not great with computer stuff.

Yeah it's not too bad. Just have all your employment info handy before you start.

Good point about the waiting week. I definitely don't want to delay getting benefits any longer than necessary.

Wait, what's this waiting week everyone keeps mentioning? I thought Washington got rid of that?

No they still have it. It's the first week of your claim where you don't get paid, but you still have to file your weekly claim.

Did they ask for all that right away or later in the process?

It was like 3 weeks after I filed. Got a letter saying my claim was under adjudication and they needed more proof of wages.

That's where Claimyr comes in handy again. I used it specifically to ask about reporting vacation pay and the agent was super helpful explaining how it affects your weekly claims.

Yeah I should have known about that service back then. Would have saved me hours of redialing.

That's a really good point. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Exactly! Plus if you do find work but it doesn't work out, you're already in the system.

Got it, filing today for sure. Thanks everyone for the advice!

Smart choice. And don't be discouraged if the process seems slow - it's normal for Washington ESD unfortunately.

3 weeks isn't too bad compared to some of the horror stories I've heard. Fingers crossed mine goes smoothly.

Three weeks is actually pretty good for Washington ESD these days. I've seen people wait 2+ months.

Mine is coming as a lump sum next Friday so I'll report it all for that week then.

Perfect, that's exactly how you should handle it.

Good reminder about the job search requirements. How many jobs do I need to apply to each week?

I think it's 3 job search activities per week but check the Washington ESD website to be sure. Can include applications, networking, job fairs, etc.

That's reassuring. I was worried about making a mistake that would mess up my whole claim.

Yeah they're pretty good about letting you correct minor errors. The main thing is just getting started.