How to stop unemployment benefits Washington ESD - need to end my claim properly
I just got hired for a full-time position that starts Monday and I need to figure out how to properly stop my unemployment benefits with Washington ESD. I don't want to accidentally keep receiving payments or mess up my record. Do I just stop filing weekly claims or is there something else I need to do? I'm worried about creating problems if I don't handle this correctly.
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Amara Okafor
Congratulations on the new job! You'll want to file one final weekly claim for the week you worked and report your earnings, then you can stop filing after that. Make sure to answer 'yes' when they ask if you worked and report your gross earnings. Washington ESD will automatically close your claim after you stop filing for a few weeks.
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Liam Murphy
•Thanks! So I don't need to call them or fill out any special forms to officially end it?
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Amara Okafor
•Nope, just stop filing once you're working full time. The system handles it automatically.
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CaptainAwesome
Actually, I'd recommend calling Washington ESD to let them know you found work, especially if you want to make sure everything is properly documented. I've heard of people having issues later because there wasn't clear communication about ending benefits.
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Liam Murphy
•Good point about calling them. How hard is it to get through to someone at Washington ESD?
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CaptainAwesome
•It's pretty difficult honestly. I tried calling for weeks about a different issue. You might want to try that Claimyr service I found - they help you get through to ESD agents. Check out claimyr.com, they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works.
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Liam Murphy
•Never heard of that before but I'll check it out if I can't get through the regular way.
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Yuki Tanaka
dont overthink it just stop filing when u start working, thats what i did and never had any problems
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Esmeralda Gómez
•Same here, I just stopped filing and everything was fine. The system figures it out.
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Klaus Schmidt
Make sure you report ALL earnings on your final weekly claim, even if it's just training pay or partial week earnings. Washington ESD is strict about unreported income and you don't want an overpayment notice later. Better to be completely transparent about when you started working.
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Liam Murphy
•My first week is just orientation and training - should I still report that even though it's not my regular wage?
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Klaus Schmidt
•Yes, report everything. Any compensation counts as earnings that need to be reported to Washington ESD.
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Aisha Patel
•This is important advice. I got dinged for not reporting training pay once and had to deal with an overpayment mess.
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LilMama23
Whatever you do, don't keep filing claims once you're working full time. That's considered fraud and Washington ESD takes it seriously. I know someone who kept filing out of habit and ended up with a huge mess to clean up.
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Liam Murphy
•Definitely don't want to deal with fraud issues! I'll make sure to stop filing as soon as I start the job.
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Amara Okafor
One thing to keep in mind - if this new job doesn't work out for any reason, you might be able to reopen your unemployment claim rather than filing a completely new one. Just something to remember for the future.
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Liam Murphy
•That's good to know. How long do you have to reopen an old claim vs filing a new one?
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Amara Okafor
•I think it's within a year of when your benefit year started, but don't quote me on that. You'd need to check with Washington ESD for the exact timeframe.
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Dmitri Volkov
I had to end my benefits last year and I called Washington ESD just to be safe. Took forever to get through but the agent confirmed that stopping weekly claims was the right approach. They said they'd rather have people call to confirm than guess and potentially mess things up.
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Liam Murphy
•How long did it take you to get through when you called?
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Dmitri Volkov
•Honestly like 3 hours of trying over several days. That's why I wish I'd known about services like Claimyr back then - would have saved so much time and frustration.
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Esmeralda Gómez
congrats on the job! just file your last claim with the work info and you should be good to go
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Liam Murphy
•Thanks! Feeling relieved to be getting back to work.
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CaptainAwesome
Since you're concerned about doing this right, I'd definitely try to speak with someone at Washington ESD. The phone system is frustrating but getting confirmation gives peace of mind. If you do use something like Claimyr to get through faster, just ask them to confirm the proper procedure for ending benefits when you start full-time work.
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Liam Murphy
•That makes sense. I'd rather spend some time on the phone now than deal with problems later.
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Gabrielle Dubois
•Agreed. Better safe than sorry when it comes to unemployment benefits.
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Klaus Schmidt
Just to be crystal clear on the process: 1) File your final weekly claim reporting any work and earnings 2) Stop filing subsequent claims once you're working full time 3) Keep records of when you started work in case there are any questions later. Washington ESD's system will eventually close your claim automatically.
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Liam Murphy
•Perfect, that's exactly the clear guidance I was looking for. Thank you!
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Tyrone Johnson
•This is the correct process. I work with employment issues and this is what we always recommend.
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Ingrid Larsson
Make sure your new employer knows you were on unemployment too, just in case they need to verify anything for their records. Some employers like to have that information for their HR files.
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Liam Murphy
•Good point, I'll mention it during onboarding if it comes up.
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Yuki Tanaka
ive stopped and started unemployment like 3 times over the years, its really not complicated just stop filing when you dont need it anymore
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Carlos Mendoza
•Yeah the Washington ESD system is pretty straightforward about this stuff.
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Zainab Mahmoud
The most important thing is DON'T file any more weekly claims once you start working full time hours. That's the main way people get into trouble. Everything else is just details.
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Liam Murphy
•Got it, I'll definitely make sure not to file once I'm working full time.
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Ava Williams
I actually called Washington ESD about this exact situation last month using Claimyr and they confirmed - just file your final claim with earnings reported and then stop filing. No special forms or procedures needed.
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Liam Murphy
•That's reassuring to hear from someone who actually spoke with them recently about this.
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Ava Williams
•Yeah, Claimyr made it super easy to get through and get a definitive answer. Worth checking out if you want to confirm directly with Washington ESD.
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LilMama23
Just remember that if you ever need unemployment again in the future, having a clean record of properly ending your benefits will help. Washington ESD keeps track of how people handle their claims.
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Liam Murphy
•That's a great point about maintaining a good record for the future.
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Amara Okafor
Final thought - save a screenshot or record of your last filed claim showing you reported work earnings. It's good documentation to have just in case you ever need to reference when and how you ended your benefits.
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Liam Murphy
•Excellent advice! I'll definitely save that documentation.
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Raj Gupta
•Smart thinking about keeping records. Always good to have documentation with government benefit programs.
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Lena Müller
good luck with the new job! sounds like you have a good plan for ending your benefits properly
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Liam Murphy
•Thanks everyone! This thread was really helpful.
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Grant Vikers
Congrats on landing the new job! I went through this same process a few months ago. The key things are: 1) File your final weekly claim and report ALL earnings from your new job (even orientation/training pay), 2) Stop filing claims once you're working full-time, and 3) Keep documentation of your last claim for your records. Washington ESD's system will automatically close your claim after a few weeks of not filing. If you want extra peace of mind, you can try calling them to confirm, but honestly the process is pretty straightforward - just don't overthink it!
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