How will I know if I'm approved for Washington ESD unemployment benefits?
I submitted my initial unemployment claim with Washington ESD about 10 days ago and I'm getting anxious waiting to hear back. I keep checking my account on the ESD website but it just shows my claim is 'under review'. How will they actually notify me if I'm approved? Will I get an email, letter in the mail, or do I just have to keep checking online? And how long does it usually take to find out? I'm worried I did something wrong because I haven't heard anything yet.
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Freya Pedersen
Washington ESD will send you a determination letter in the mail - that's the official approval or denial notice. You'll also see the status change in your online account. Usually takes 2-3 weeks for a decision on regular UI claims if there are no issues.
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GalacticGuru
•Thanks! Do they send the letter to the address I put on my application? I'm staying with family temporarily so I want to make sure I don't miss it.
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Freya Pedersen
•Yes, whatever address you listed on your claim. You can update your address in your online account if needed.
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Omar Fawaz
10 days isn't that long honestly, mine took almost 3 weeks and I was approved. The waiting is the worst part but they're pretty backed up right now.
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GalacticGuru
•That makes me feel better! I keep thinking I messed something up on the application.
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Omar Fawaz
•I felt the same way! But as long as you were honest about everything you should be fine.
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Chloe Anderson
If you need to check your claim status or have questions about the process, I found this service called Claimyr that actually helps you get through to ESD agents on the phone. Check out claimyr.com - they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Saved me hours of calling and getting busy signals.
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GalacticGuru
•Is that legit? I've been trying to call ESD for days but can never get through.
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Chloe Anderson
•Yeah it's real, they basically handle the calling for you and connect you when they reach an agent. Way better than sitting on hold for hours.
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Diego Vargas
•I've heard of that service too. Friend of mine used it when her claim got stuck in adjudication.
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Anastasia Fedorov
You should get a monetary determination letter first that shows your weekly benefit amount IF you're eligible. Then a separate letter about whether you're actually approved. Don't panic if the first letter comes but not the second one right away.
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GalacticGuru
•Wait, so there are two different letters? This is confusing.
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Anastasia Fedorov
•Yeah the monetary one just calculates what you WOULD get based on your work history. The eligibility determination is separate and tells you if you actually qualify.
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StarStrider
ugh this whole process is so stressful! i filed 2 weeks ago and still nothing. keep checking my account obsessively
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GalacticGuru
•Same! I probably check 5 times a day hoping something changed.
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Omar Fawaz
•Try not to stress too much, they really are just slow. The system works but it takes time.
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Freya Pedersen
Also make sure you're filing your weekly claims even while waiting for approval. You need to do that every week to get paid for those weeks later.
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GalacticGuru
•Oh I didn't know that! I thought I had to wait until I was approved to start filing weekly claims.
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Freya Pedersen
•Nope, file them now. If you're approved, you'll get paid for all the weeks you filed. If you don't file them, you lose those weeks even if approved later.
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Sean Doyle
•This is super important! I made that mistake and lost 3 weeks of benefits because nobody told me to keep filing.
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Diego Vargas
If your claim goes into adjudication that's when things can really drag out. Mine was in adjudication for 6 weeks because they had to verify my employment dates with a previous employer.
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GalacticGuru
•How do you know if it's in adjudication? Does it say that on your account?
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Diego Vargas
•Yeah it will show 'adjudication in progress' or something similar. Usually means they need to investigate something about your claim.
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Zara Rashid
The ESD website is terrible for updates honestly. Sometimes the mail comes before the website even changes. I got my approval letter on a Tuesday but my online account didn't update until Friday.
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GalacticGuru
•Good to know! I'll stop obsessing over the website updates then.
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Freya Pedersen
•The website definitely lags behind the actual processing. Mail is more reliable for knowing your real status.
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Chloe Anderson
If you're getting really anxious about it and want to talk to someone at ESD directly, that Claimyr service I mentioned earlier is honestly worth checking out. They got me connected to an agent in like 20 minutes when I was worried about my claim status.
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GalacticGuru
•I might try that if I don't hear anything by next week. Getting really worried about my bills.
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Luca Romano
•I used Claimyr too when my claim was taking forever. The agent was able to tell me exactly what was happening and when to expect my decision.
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Nia Jackson
Whatever you do, don't assume you're denied if it takes a while. Mine took almost a month and I was sure I got rejected, but then I got approved and got a big back payment for all the weeks I'd been waiting.
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GalacticGuru
•That's reassuring! I keep thinking the worst because it's taking so long.
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Nia Jackson
•I know the feeling but hang in there. The waiting is brutal but most claims do get approved eventually.
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Mateo Hernandez
Pro tip - sign up for text alerts in your ESD account if you haven't already. You'll get notified when there are updates to your claim instead of having to constantly check.
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GalacticGuru
•I didn't know they had text alerts! Going to set that up right now.
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Mateo Hernandez
•Yeah it's under account settings somewhere. Saves a lot of anxious website checking.
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CosmicCruiser
been waiting 3 months for mine to get approved... they keep asking for more documentation and every time i send it they want something else. this system is broken
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GalacticGuru
•3 months?! That's insane. What kind of documentation are they asking for?
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CosmicCruiser
•first they wanted pay stubs, then tax returns, then a letter from my employer... it never ends
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Freya Pedersen
•That sounds like a complex eligibility issue. Might be worth appealing if you think they're being unreasonable with their requests.
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Aisha Khan
The approval letter will have all your benefit details - weekly amount, maximum benefits, how long you can collect, etc. Keep that letter safe because you'll need to reference it.
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GalacticGuru
•Good to know what to expect when it finally comes! Thanks for the heads up.
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Ethan Taylor
If you get denied for any reason, you have 30 days to appeal the decision. Don't just accept it if you think they made a mistake - the appeal process actually works pretty well.
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GalacticGuru
•Hopefully I won't need to appeal but good to know that's an option.
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Ethan Taylor
•Yeah most people don't realize they can appeal. I had to appeal a disqualification and ended up winning and getting all my benefits.
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Chloe Anderson
Just to follow up on that Claimyr thing - if you do decide to call ESD about your claim status, definitely check them out first. Their service connects you directly to ESD agents without all the busy signals and waiting. Made a huge difference for me when I was stressing about my claim.
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GalacticGuru
•Thanks for mentioning it again. I bookmarked their site and might give it a try if I don't hear anything soon.
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Yuki Ito
Don't forget you'll also need to do the WorkSource registration requirement once you're approved. They'll send info about that with your approval letter.
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GalacticGuru
•What's WorkSource? Is that the job search requirement I keep hearing about?
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Yuki Ito
•Yeah, you have to register with WorkSourceWA and do job search activities to keep getting benefits. It's all explained in the approval packet.
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Carmen Lopez
The monetary determination usually comes first and that gives you a good sign that you'll probably be approved. If you were going to be denied for work history reasons, you usually wouldn't get a monetary determination at all.
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GalacticGuru
•That's helpful to know! So if I get the monetary letter that's a good sign?
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Carmen Lopez
•Generally yes, but you still need the actual eligibility determination. The monetary just means you worked enough to potentially qualify.
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Andre Dupont
hang in there! i know exactly how you feel. the waiting is terrible but most people do get approved if they qualified for benefits. try to stay busy and not think about it too much
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GalacticGuru
•Thanks for the encouragement! It's hard not to worry but you're right, I need to try to stay distracted.
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QuantumQuasar
One thing to watch for - if they need any additional info from you, they'll send a separate letter asking for it. Don't ignore those or your claim could get denied for non-response.
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GalacticGuru
•Good point! I'll make sure to check my mail carefully for anything from ESD.
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QuantumQuasar
•Yeah and respond quickly if they do ask for something. They usually give you like 10 days to respond.
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Zoe Papanikolaou
Overall Washington ESD is pretty good about approving legitimate claims. The wait is frustrating but they do process most applications eventually. Just keep filing your weekly claims and be patient!
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GalacticGuru
•Thanks everyone for all the helpful responses! Feeling much better about the waiting now. I'll keep filing my weekly claims and watching for that letter in the mail.
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Freya Pedersen
•Good plan! Hope you hear something positive soon. Keep us posted on how it goes.
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