How to get more money from unemployment Washington ESD - missing wages?

You need to contact Washington ESD immediately to report all your wages from your base period. They use your highest earning quarter to calculate your weekly benefit amount, so if you left out wages from your second job, your benefit could definitely be higher. You can request a wage review.

How do I request a wage review? Do I need to call them or can I do it online through my account?

You'll need to call them. Have your pay stubs or W-2 from the second job ready as proof of those wages.

YES definitely get those wages added! Washington ESD looks at all wages from all employers during your base period (usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you filed). If you earned more than what's showing in their system, you could get a significant increase in your weekly benefit amount.

That makes sense. I probably should have reported both jobs when I first filed. Do you know if they'll backpay the difference for the weeks I already claimed?

They should backpay you for any weeks you were underpaid once they recalculate your benefit amount. Keep track of which weeks you've already claimed.

Good luck getting through to Washington ESD on the phone though. I've been trying for weeks to get my claim fixed and can barely get past the busy signal. Their phone system is a nightmare.

I had the same problem until I discovered Claimyr. It's a service that helps you get through to Washington ESD agents without sitting on hold forever. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows exactly how it works.

Really? How does that work exactly? I'm willing to try anything at this point.

Basically they handle all the calling and waiting for you, then connect you directly to an agent when they get through. Way better than spending hours on hold yourself.

Wait, I'm confused about this whole wage thing. I thought Washington ESD automatically pulls all your wage info when you file? Why would they miss wages from a second employer?

They only pull wages that were reported to them by employers. Sometimes there can be delays or errors in wage reporting, especially for smaller employers or if you worked out of state.

Oh okay, that makes sense. So you have to double-check that all your wages are included.

This happened to my brother last year. He was missing wages from a construction job and his benefit went from like $280 to $450 per week once they added the missing wages. Took about 3 weeks to get it sorted out but he got all the back pay.

That's a huge difference! Gives me hope that mine might go up significantly too.

$450 a week sounds pretty good. What's the maximum you can get in Washington?

I think the max is around $999 per week now, but most people don't qualify for that much.

Just make sure you have documentation for those wages! Washington ESD will want to see pay stubs, W-2s, or some other proof before they'll adjust your benefit amount. Don't just tell them over the phone.

Good point. I still have my pay stubs from that retail job saved in a folder somewhere.

Definitely keep all that paperwork handy. They might ask for it to be mailed or uploaded to your account.

The Washington ESD system is so frustrating sometimes. You'd think they would automatically include ALL your wages when you file, not make you hunt down missing ones yourself.

Right? It's like they want to pay you as little as possible. I had to fight to get my correct wages included too.

The whole system needs an overhaul. Too many people fall through the cracks because of stuff like this.

One thing to check - make sure your second employer actually reported your wages to Washington ESD. Some smaller companies are terrible about filing their quarterly wage reports on time.

How would I check that? Is there a way to see what wages they have on file for me?

You can request a wage statement from Washington ESD that shows all the wages they have in their system. Compare it to your own records to see what's missing.

I used Claimyr when I needed to get through to Washington ESD about a similar wage issue. Worth every penny to avoid the phone frustration. Got my wage review done in one call instead of trying for weeks on my own.

How much does Claimyr cost? I might need to use them too if I can't get through.

It's really reasonable for what you get. Way cheaper than losing weeks of higher benefits because you can't reach an agent.

Don't wait too long to get this fixed. There might be time limits on when you can request wage reviews or benefit adjustments. The sooner you call, the better.

You're right, I should call tomorrow. I'll try calling first thing in the morning when they open.

Good luck! The early morning calls sometimes work better than later in the day.

This is exactly why I always double-check everything with Washington ESD. Their system misses stuff all the time and it's always the claimant who suffers for it.

Yep, you have to be your own advocate with the unemployment office. They're not going to look out for you.

Keep us updated on how it goes! I'm curious to see how much your benefit amount increases once they add those missing wages.

Will do! Hopefully I can get through to them and get this sorted out quickly.

Fingers crossed for you! Missing wages can make a huge difference in your weekly benefit.