How to properly stop ESD benefits after finding a job?

Congratulations on your new job! Here's what you need to do: 1. Report your employment when you file your last weekly claim. There's a question asking if you've returned to full-time work - answer 'yes'. 2. Report any earnings for that week if you started working before filing. 3. After reporting full-time work, ESD will automatically stop your claim. And yes, you should definitely file for your partial week with 0 hours. You're eligible for benefits until you actually start working. Just make sure to answer the 'returned to work' question accurately.

Just FYI - make sure you write down the EXACT date you start work. ESD might contact your employer later to verify your start date, and if there's any discrepancy, they could hit you with an overpayment notice. Happened to me when I put the wrong start date (I put when I accepted the offer instead of my actual first day).

dont forget to cancel ur job search requirements on worksource too otherwise theyll keep sending u emails about jobs forever ask me how i know lol

When I got a job last year, I called ESD to make sure everything was properly closed out. Took me 4 days of calling to actually reach someone! If you're having trouble getting through to verify everything is done correctly, I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got connected to an actual ESD agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 It was worth it for peace of mind to confirm my claim was properly closed and I wouldn't get hit with an overpayment notice months later.

Don't forget that if you worked PARTIAL weeks before your full-time start date, you need to report those earnings accurately on your weekly claim for those weeks. If you earned money during your claim week but BEFORE your official full-time start date, you still report those earnings. Also, keep in mind that Washington state has a rule that if you earn more than your weekly benefit amount, you won't receive benefits for that week. So if your weekly benefit is $800 and you earn $801 in a week, you won't get any unemployment that week even though you weren't full-time yet.

I MADE A HUGE MISTAKE when I got hired last year!!! I thought I was being honest by reporting that I got a job offer, but I hadn't actually STARTED working yet. ESD immediately closed my claim even though I wasn't getting paid yet!! Had to scramble to pay rent because there was a 2-week gap between my last unemployment payment and my first paycheck. Don't make my mistake - only report when you ACTUALLY START WORKING!

When I got a job after being on unemployment for 6 months, I just stopped filing claims. Years later I found out that was a bad idea because my claim wasn't properly closed and ESD thought I might have been working while collecting benefits. They did an investigation and everything. Definitely follow the proper process!

Thanks everyone for all the helpful advice! To summarize what I'll do: 1. File my claim for this week normally since I haven't started working yet 2. File next week's claim and answer YES to the question about returning to full-time work 3. Report my start date correctly as 5/15/2025 4. Update my WorkSource profile to show I'm employed I appreciate all the warnings about what NOT to do too - definitely helps me avoid potential problems!