How to withdraw unemployment claim with Washington ESD - need help ASAP

You can't technically 'withdraw' a claim once it's filed, but you can stop filing weekly claims and report your return to work. Log into your account and when you file your next weekly claim, report that you worked full time and earned wages. This will usually stop your benefits automatically.

had the same thing happen to me last year, just stop filing the weekly claims if you're working full time again

The key is to report your return to work immediately. If you're working full-time (over 32 hours), you won't be eligible for benefits that week. Make sure to report all gross wages earned. Washington ESD has a work search waiver if you're on standby with your employer, but if you're permanently back, just report the full-time work.

I actually found a way to get through to Washington ESD when I needed to report my work situation change. There's this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you get connected to ESD agents. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. It was super helpful when I couldn't get through the regular phone lines.

WHATEVER YOU DO don't just ignore it!!! My friend thought she could just stop filing and everything would be fine but then she got a notice about not reporting properly. The system expects you to keep filing until you officially report the work change.

just a quick question - do you have to report work if its under the table?

To clarify for the OP - when you file your weekly claim, there will be questions about work performed and wages earned. Answer these honestly for the week in question. If you worked full-time, the system will show $0 benefits for that week, which is correct.

Similar situation happened to me but I was only going back part-time. Still had to report the hours and wages, but I could still get partial benefits. Make sure you understand the difference if your situation changes again.

The Washington ESD phone system is absolutely terrible. I've been trying to get through for three weeks about my adjudication issue. Sometimes I think they designed it to be impossible to reach anyone.

wait so if I'm reading this right, you can't actually cancel a claim once its submitted? That seems weird

I had to deal with this exact situation when I got called back from layoff. Just be super careful about reporting your wages correctly. I put the wrong amount one week and it took forever to fix the overpayment mess.

This thread is really helpful. I'm in a similar boat but my employer wants me to stay on standby status. That's different from what the OP is describing, right?

Does anyone know if there's a deadline for reporting return to work? Like what if you forget to report it for a few weeks?

The whole system is set up to catch people making mistakes. I swear they make it confusing on purpose so they can collect overpayments later.

thanks for posting this question, i was wondering the same thing

One more thing to mention - make sure you keep records of when you returned to work and what wages you reported. If there are any questions later, you'll want documentation.

Just to confirm what everyone else said - you report the work on your weekly claim and the benefits stop automatically. I did this when I got recalled to my job and it worked exactly like they described.

This whole thread has been really educational. I'm bookmarking it in case I need to reference it later.

If anyone else is having trouble getting through to Washington ESD about claim issues, I had good luck with that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier. Finally got to talk to someone about my pending adjudication after weeks of trying on my own.

One last reminder for the OP - make sure you file that weekly claim and report your work accurately. Don't just stop filing without reporting the change first!

Just wanted to add that when you report your return to full-time work, the system might take a day or two to update and show $0 benefits for that week - that's normal. Don't panic if you don't see the change immediately. Also, keep in mind that if your work situation changes again in the future (layoff, hours reduced, etc.), your claim will still be there and you can potentially reactivate it by filing weekly claims again. The one-year benefit year doesn't restart just because you went back to work temporarily.