How to deal with unemployment claim issues - Washington ESD system overwhelming me

Thank you! I didn't know about the WorkSourceWA tracking feature. Do I need to submit those logs with every weekly claim or just keep them for my records?

Just keep them for your records, but make sure they're detailed. Washington ESD can audit your job search activities at any time.

That's exactly what I'm experiencing! It's so frustrating. There has to be a better way to reach them.

I actually found a service called Claimyr that helps you get through to Washington ESD agents. They handle the calling and waiting for you - saved me so much time and stress. Check out claimyr.com, they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works.

Never heard of that but honestly anything is better than spending my entire day redialing the same number

That's smart! I should have been doing that from the beginning. Do you have any template you could share?

I just use a basic Excel sheet with columns for date, company, position, method of contact, and any follow-up. Nothing fancy but it keeps me compliant.

While I understand the frustration, the system does work once you learn the requirements. It's just not user-friendly at all.

' Works is generous.'I ve been waiting 8 weeks for my adjudication and'haven t received a single paymentyet.

Was there a cost involved? I'm already tight on money so I want to make sure it's worth it.

There is a fee but honestly it was worth every penny compared to the stress and time I was wasting. Plus I got my issue resolved in one call.

It really is. I never expected it to be this complicated when I first filed.

Hang in there both of you. Once you get into the routine and understand the requirements, it does get easier to manage.

I didn't know there was a deadline! I've been filing mine randomly throughout the week.

Yep, and if you miss the deadline you can't go back and file for that week later. It's gone forever.

Wait, I thought you could file late claims? I've been putting mine off sometimes...

Nope, that's a common misconception. You have to file within the designated week or you lose those benefits.

That's amazing! I'm definitely going to try it. What kind of identity verification did they need?

had to upload a photo of my driver's license and social security card through their secure portal. took 2 days to process then my payments started coming through

Glad it worked out for you! That's exactly the kind of issue that's impossible to resolve without actually talking to someone.

I had no idea workshops counted! That's going to make things so much easier.

Yep, and they have them almost daily. You can attend online and it automatically logs in your WorkSourceWA account.

Good to know! I've been checking maybe once a week. I'll start checking more frequently.

This is so true. I almost missed an important deadline because I didn't check for 10 days and there was a new document request.

You can set up notifications in your SAW account preferences, but honestly they're not very reliable. I still recommend checking manually.

Thanks, I'll look for that setting. Even unreliable notifications are better than nothing.

That sounds incredibly frustrating. Have you tried reaching out through multiple channels?

Address changes can be tricky. Sometimes it's faster to handle that kind of thing through a phone call with an agent rather than the online system.

That's scary! What constitutes 'adequate documentation' for job search activities?

Date, company name, position applied for, method of contact, and ideally some proof like a confirmation email or screenshot of the application.

How long did it take you to feel comfortable with the process?

probably about 2 months to really understand all the requirements and get into a good routine

I keep hearing good things about this service. I think I'm going to give it a try this week.

Same here, I was skeptical at first but it really does work. Saved me probably 20+ hours of calling.

That's a great system! I'm going to try to implement something similar.

Having a routine makes it feel less overwhelming. Otherwise it's easy to let things pile up and then panic.

That's reassuring to hear. I was starting to worry that the delay meant something was wrong with my claim.

Nope, they're just backed up. As long as you provided all the required information, it should eventually process.

Thank you everyone for all the advice and support. I feel much more confident about dealing with this now.

You've got this! Feel free to come back if you run into any other issues.