How to win unemployment claim for hostile work environment - Washington ESD advice needed

I do have emails and dates written down. I did report it to HR twice but they basically told me to deal with it. Should I include those HR conversations in my documentation?

Absolutely include the HR reports! That shows you attempted to resolve the issue through proper channels before quitting. Make sure you have dates and names of who you spoke with.

6 weeks for adjudication? That's a long time to wait without income. Did you have to do a phone interview with an adjudicator?

Yes, I had a phone interview where I explained the whole situation. The adjudicator asked specific questions about what I did to try to resolve things and why I felt I had no choice but to quit.

I didn't file with WISHA but I did see my doctor for stress and anxiety. Would medical records help my case?

Medical records showing work-related stress can definitely strengthen your case. They help prove the impact the hostile environment had on your health.

Thanks for the tip! I've been trying to call Washington ESD for days but keep getting busy signals or getting disconnected after waiting on hold.

How much does Claimyr cost? Is it worth it just to get through to Washington ESD?

I thought it was worth it since I was able to talk to someone and get my claim moving forward. The alternative was waiting weeks without any updates.

I kept a detailed log of incidents including dates and what happened. Some coworkers witnessed the behavior too. Should I get written statements from them?

Yes, witness statements can be very powerful evidence. Even if your coworkers still work there, they can provide statements about what they observed.

Right?? It's so stressful having to prove that the job was unbearable while also worrying about paying bills with no income coming in.

The system is designed to make it hard unfortunately. They want to make sure people aren't just quitting jobs they don't like and claiming benefits.

I've been filing weekly but worried I was wasting my time since my claim says 'adjudication in progress'. Good to know I should keep doing it.

Definitely keep filing! The worst thing you can do is stop filing weekly claims because then you lose those weeks permanently even if approved later.

That gives me hope! I'm worried because I only reported to HR twice, but maybe that's enough to show I tried to fix things first.

Two reports to HR should be sufficient as long as you documented when you reported and what their response was. Shows you made a good faith effort.

Good point about keeping it focused. I was planning to explain the whole story but maybe I should just stick to the key points about why I had to quit.

exactly, don't ramble or go off on tangents. answer their questions directly and provide the evidence you have. let the documentation speak for itself

Good idea! I think we did have a harassment policy in the employee handbook. I'll need to dig that up and see what it says about reporting procedures.

If they didn't follow their own policy when you reported the issues, that's really good evidence for your claim. Shows they weren't taking your complaints seriously.

How long did it take after you talked to someone for your claim to get resolved? I'm hoping to speed up this process somehow.

About a week after I was able to submit the additional documentation they requested. Much faster than trying to mail things or wait for callbacks that never came.

I'm going to request copies of my medical records from when I was seeing the doctor for anxiety. Hopefully that shows the impact the job was having on my health.

That's smart. Medical documentation provides objective evidence of how the hostile environment affected you physically and mentally.

How did you organize all your documentation? I have everything but it's kind of scattered between emails, notes, and other paperwork.

I created a timeline document with dates and what happened each time, then attached all the supporting evidence like emails and witness statements. made it easy to reference during the phone interview

I know it's an uphill battle but I really couldn't stay in that job anymore. The stress was affecting my health and I tried everything I could to resolve it.

If you have medical records and documentation of your attempts to resolve it, you have a decent shot. Don't let the negativity discourage you from trying.

That's a great idea. My doctor did note that my anxiety was work-related, so maybe I can get a more detailed statement from her about the impact.

Yes, having a medical professional document the work-related stress really strengthened my case. It shows objective evidence of harm from the hostile environment.

How long do you have to file an appeal if they deny the claim? I want to make sure I know my options if things don't go well.

You have 30 days from the date of the denial letter to file an appeal. Don't wait until the last minute though - get it filed as soon as possible if you need to appeal.

A couple people mentioned Claimyr already. Might be worth trying if I can't get through to Washington ESD on my own to check on my claim status.

Yeah I've seen them mentioned in other threads too. Seems like they actually work for getting past the busy signals and hold times.

Good reminder. I get pretty upset thinking about what happened but I need to stay calm and professional when talking to the adjudicator.

Exactly. Your evidence will be more convincing than emotional appeals. Let the facts speak for themselves.

Thanks for all the encouragement and advice everyone. I feel more confident about my case now that I know what to expect and how to organize my evidence.

You're welcome! Keep us updated on how your adjudication goes. Your experience might help others in similar situations.

This is really helpful advice! Creating a timeline sounds like a smart approach. I'm curious - when you say you exhausted all internal remedies, how many times did you report the issues before you felt you had done enough? I reported to HR twice but I'm wondering if that's sufficient or if I should have tried other avenues within the company first.

Two reports to HR should definitely be sufficient to show you tried to resolve things internally. The key is that you made good faith efforts and HR either ignored your complaints or failed to take meaningful action. In my case, I also tried talking to my direct supervisor first before going to HR, but every situation is different. What matters most is that you can demonstrate you didn't just quit impulsively - you tried to work within the system first. Make sure to document exactly what HR's response was (or lack thereof) when you reported the issues.

This is exactly the kind of detailed breakdown I needed to hear! It's reassuring to know that someone with a similar situation was approved. I've been worried that 7 weeks seems like such a long time to wait, but knowing that you got back pay for all those weeks makes it more manageable. I'm definitely going to take your advice about organizing everything chronologically - right now I have emails in one place, my handwritten notes in another, and the HR documentation scattered around. Having it all in timeline format will probably make the phone interview go much smoother. Thanks for sharing your experience and the specific factors the adjudicator mentioned - that really helps me understand what they're looking for.

Seven weeks does sound daunting when you're dealing with no income, but you're absolutely right about the back pay making it worthwhile. I'm curious about the phone interview process - did they give you advance notice of when they'd call, or was it more of a surprise call? I want to make sure I'm prepared and have all my documentation easily accessible when they reach out. Also, did you feel like the adjudicator was genuinely trying to understand your situation, or did it feel more adversarial? I'm a bit nervous about having to defend my decision to quit when I know it was the right choice for my health and safety.

They actually sent me a letter about a week before the phone interview with the date and time, so I had plenty of advance notice to get organized. The adjudicator was very professional and seemed genuinely interested in understanding the full situation - it didn't feel adversarial at all. They asked specific questions like "What steps did you take to address this with your employer?" and "Can you describe the specific incidents that made you feel you had no choice but to quit?" Having my timeline ready made it so much easier to give clear, factual answers with exact dates. The whole interview took about 30 minutes, and they were very thorough but fair. Don't worry too much about having to "defend" your decision - if you have good documentation and can clearly explain why the situation was intolerable, they'll listen. Just stick to the facts and let your evidence speak for itself.