How to close unemployment claim with Washington ESD - found work but confused about process

Thanks! So I should file for this week even though I worked Monday-Friday? I made about $800 gross this week.

Yes, exactly. Report that $800 when you file your weekly claim. Since it's over your weekly benefit amount, you'll get $0 in unemployment for that week, but you've properly reported your return to work.

ugh the phone situation is so frustrating! I gave up trying to call them months ago

Have you heard of Claimyr? I used them last month to get through to an Washington ESD agent when I couldn't reach anyone myself. They have this system that calls for you and connects you when an agent picks up. Check out claimyr.com - they even have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Saved me hours of frustration.

Interesting, I'll definitely look into that. The traditional calling method is absolutely broken.

Yes, report those 3 days of work and your gross earnings. You might still get partial unemployment benefits for that week since you only worked part-time.

Perfect, that makes sense. I was worried about reporting partial work incorrectly.

That's what I was thinking too. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't supposed to do something specific to close it out.

Right, and if you need to reopen your claim later (like if this job doesn't work out), you can do that as long as it's within your benefit year.

You report it on your next weekly claim filing. You don't need to call them immediately - the weekly claim is your official reporting mechanism.

Oh thank god, I was stressing about this for nothing. I start my job tomorrow and was panicking about having to call them today.

What kind of mistake did you make? I want to avoid that situation.

I reported my net pay instead of gross pay on my last claim. Always use your gross earnings before taxes and deductions.

This is exactly why I used Claimyr to talk to an agent when I had questions about reporting earnings. Much easier than trying to figure it out on my own and risk making a costly mistake.

Seriously! I spent 2 hours on their website trying to find clear guidance about this exact situation.

The website is terrible. Most of the useful info I've gotten has been from forums like this one.

Good point. How long is a benefit year? Is it 12 months from when I first filed?

Yes, exactly. 52 weeks from the date you first filed your claim. You can see your benefit year dates in your eServices account.

Same here. I think people overthink this process. Just report your work earnings accurately and stop filing when you're working full-time.

Yeah, but what if you need to talk to someone to make sure you did it right? The phone lines are impossible.

That's where services like Claimyr come in handy. I used them twice last year when I needed to actually speak with an Washington ESD representative. Way better than spending my entire day trying to get through.

That's smart. I'll definitely do that when I file my claim this week.

Great advice. Documentation is key with any government benefit program.

As long as you reported your work earnings accurately, you should be fine. If you worked full-time, you would have gotten $0 in benefits for that week anyway.

OK good, that's exactly what happened. I got $0 but was worried I had done something wrong by filing.

Agreed. The lack of clear guidance creates so much unnecessary stress for people who are already dealing with job transitions.

At least we have resources like this forum and services like Claimyr to help navigate the system. Better than being completely on your own.