How to end unemployment benefits in Washington - proper way to close claim?
I finally got a full-time job offer and start Monday! I've been on UI benefits for about 4 months through Washington ESD. What's the proper way to end my unemployment claim? Do I need to call them or just stop filing weekly claims? I don't want to mess anything up or accidentally keep getting benefits I'm not supposed to receive. Also worried about overpayment issues if I do this wrong.
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Chris King
Congratulations on the job! You don't need to formally 'close' your Washington ESD claim. Just stop filing your weekly claims once you start working full-time. The claim will automatically become inactive after you stop filing. Make sure your last weekly claim reflects your last day of unemployment.
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Amelia Cartwright
•Thanks! So I just stop filing after this week? My last day without work is Sunday and I start the new job Monday.
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Chris King
•Exactly! File your weekly claim for this past week showing you were available and looking for work, then just don't file next week since you'll be employed.
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Rachel Clark
definitely stop filing once you start the job, but keep all your paperwork just in case. sometimes washington esd asks for verification later
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Amelia Cartwright
•Good point about keeping paperwork. I've been saving everything just in case.
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Zachary Hughes
One thing to watch out for - if your job doesn't work out during the first few weeks, you might be able to reopen your claim without having to start completely over. Washington ESD allows this in certain situations. But hopefully your new job works out great!
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Amelia Cartwright
•That's reassuring to know! The job seems solid but it's good to know I have options if something unexpected happens.
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Mia Alvarez
•Yeah I had to do this once when a job fell through after 2 weeks. Was able to restart my claim pretty easily.
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Carter Holmes
I was in a similar situation last year and had trouble getting through to Washington ESD to ask questions about stopping benefits. If you need to talk to someone about your specific situation, I found this service called Claimyr that helped me get connected to an actual Washington ESD agent. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. Made it so much easier than trying to get through on my own.
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Amelia Cartwright
•Thanks for the tip! I'll check that out if I run into any issues. Hopefully it'll be straightforward though.
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Sophia Long
•Never heard of that service but might be useful. Washington ESD phone lines are impossible to get through on.
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Angelica Smith
MAKE SURE you report your start date correctly on your last weekly claim! I messed this up once and they thought I was working while claiming benefits. Had to deal with an overpayment investigation even though it was just a mistake on the dates.
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Amelia Cartwright
•Oh no! How did you resolve the overpayment issue? That's exactly what I'm worried about.
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Angelica Smith
•Had to provide documentation showing my actual start date and prove I wasn't working during the weeks I claimed. Took about 6 weeks to sort out but they eventually cleared it.
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Chris King
•This is why it's important to be very precise with dates on your weekly claims. Always use the actual dates, not approximations.
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Logan Greenburg
congratulations! been looking for work for 8 months now, so jealous lol. enjoy being employed again!
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Amelia Cartwright
•Thank you! Don't give up - it took me 4 months but the right opportunity finally came along. Keep applying!
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Zachary Hughes
Also worth mentioning - if you earned any income during your last week of unemployment (like from a final freelance project or something), make sure to report that on your final weekly claim. Washington ESD is pretty strict about unreported income.
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Amelia Cartwright
•Good reminder. I did have one small freelance payment come in this week, so I'll make sure to include that.
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Charlotte Jones
•Yeah they cross-reference with tax records eventually, so better to report everything upfront.
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Rachel Clark
quick question - do you know if starting a job affects the waiting week stuff? i have a waiting week penalty and wondering if getting a job resets anything
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Chris King
•Starting a job doesn't reset waiting week penalties. Those are tied to your claim establishment, not employment status. You'd still need to serve any remaining waiting week if you reopened your claim later.
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Rachel Clark
•ok thanks, wasn't sure how that worked
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Lucas Bey
The Washington ESD website has a section about what to do when you return to work, but honestly their information is pretty scattered. The main thing is just stop filing weekly claims once you're employed full-time. Don't overthink it.
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Amelia Cartwright
•Yeah I looked at their website but it wasn't super clear. Thanks for confirming the basic approach.
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Harper Thompson
I worked part-time while on unemployment and the reporting was confusing. Full-time is much simpler - you just stop filing. Make sure your new employer knows you were on unemployment in case they need to verify anything for their records.
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Amelia Cartwright
•Good point about letting the employer know. I'll mention it during onboarding.
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Caleb Stark
•Some employers like to know so they can help if any verification issues come up later.
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Sophia Long
been through this process twice now. it's really as simple as just stopping your weekly claims. washington esd doesn't require any formal notification that you found work
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Amelia Cartwright
•That's reassuring! I was worried there might be some formal process I was missing.
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Jade O'Malley
One more tip - keep your job search log and any other documentation for at least a year after you stop claiming. Sometimes Washington ESD does random audits even after claims end, especially if there were any issues during your claim period.
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Amelia Cartwright
•Will do! I've been keeping detailed records anyway so I'll just hold onto everything.
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Hunter Edmunds
•Smart approach. Better to have documentation and not need it than the other way around.
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Ella Lewis
wait so you dont have to tell them youre starting work? that seems weird, like they should know
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Chris King
•You don't need to proactively notify them, but you do need to stop filing weekly claims immediately once you start full-time work. The weekly claim filing is how they track your employment status.
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Ella Lewis
•oh ok that makes sense i guess
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Andrew Pinnock
If you're really worried about doing something wrong, you could always try calling Washington ESD to confirm. Though good luck getting through! I used that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier when I had questions about my claim. Worked way better than trying to call directly.
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Amelia Cartwright
•Yeah the phone system is brutal. I might try that service if I have any other questions come up.
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Brianna Schmidt
•I've heard good things about Claimyr from other people too. Seems legit.
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Alexis Renard
Just wanted to say congrats again! It's such a relief when you finally land something after months of job searching. The stress of being on unemployment benefits is real.
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Amelia Cartwright
•Thank you! It really is a huge relief. The uncertainty was definitely stressful.
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Camila Jordan
Pro tip for anyone else reading this - when you do find work, make sure it's truly permanent before you stop filing. I had a 'job' that lasted 3 days and then had to restart my whole claim process. Was a nightmare.
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Amelia Cartwright
•Yikes! This job seems solid though - it's with a established company and I went through multiple interviews.
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Tyler Lefleur
•That sounds promising! Multiple interviews usually means they're serious about the hire.
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Madeline Blaze
•Yeah I had a similar experience with a job that fell through immediately. Now I always wait at least a week before stopping benefits just to be safe.
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Emily Jackson
Just wanted to add - I went through this exact same situation last month! The process really is as straightforward as everyone is saying. I filed my final weekly claim on Sunday for the week ending that day, then started my new job Monday and just never filed again. No issues whatsoever. The key thing is making sure your final claim accurately reflects your last day of unemployment. Also, save a screenshot or print out of your final claim submission - I did this just for my own peace of mind. Congratulations on the new job and good luck with the transition back to work!
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Zoe Alexopoulos
•This is really helpful to hear from someone who just went through this! I like the idea of saving a screenshot of the final claim submission - that's smart documentation to have. Did you have any follow-up from Washington ESD after you stopped filing, or did everything just go quiet on their end?
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Caden Turner
•That's exactly what I was hoping to hear! The screenshot idea is brilliant - I definitely want that documentation just in case. Thanks for sharing your recent experience with this process.
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