If you resign are you eligible for unemployment in Washington state?

Generally if you voluntarily quit your job, Washington ESD will deny your unemployment claim UNLESS you can prove you had 'good cause' for leaving. Good cause includes things like unsafe working conditions, harassment, discrimination, or significant changes to your job that weren't part of your original agreement. You'll need to document everything - save emails, text messages, witness statements, anything that proves the bad treatment.

be careful because washington esd is really strict about voluntary quits. my friend quit his job last year because of a hostile work environment and they denied his claim. he had to appeal and it took months to get approved. make sure you have TONS of documentation

I was in a similar situation and found that calling Washington ESD directly helped me understand exactly what documentation I needed before I quit. The problem is getting through to them - I must have called 200 times over two weeks. Eventually I used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get connected to an actual person at Washington ESD. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. The agent was able to explain exactly what constitutes 'good cause' for my specific situation.

The key thing is proving that a 'reasonable person' would have quit in your situation. Washington ESD looks at whether you tried to resolve the issues first (like talking to HR or your boss), whether the problems were serious enough to justify quitting, and whether you explored other options like transferring to a different department. Document everything and be prepared to explain why staying wasn't an option.

I HATE that we even have to worry about this! Why should we have to stay in abusive jobs just to qualify for benefits we've paid into? The whole system is designed to keep workers trapped in bad situations. Sorry for the rant but this stuff makes me so angry.

What exactly counts as 'good cause'? I'm dealing with something similar where my manager keeps changing my schedule last minute and now they want me to work weekends that weren't part of my original job description.

just quit and file anyway. worst case they deny it and you appeal. at least you'll be out of the toxic situation

I quit my job 6 months ago due to harassment and got approved for unemployment after providing documentation. The key things Washington ESD wanted to see were: 1) Evidence of the problematic behavior, 2) Proof that I tried to address it with management, 3) Documentation showing the situation was getting worse, not better. It took about 3 weeks for them to make a decision.

Be prepared for the adjudication process to take a while. When you file after quitting, your claim will almost definitely go into adjudication while they investigate whether you had good cause. This can take 2-4 weeks or longer depending on how busy they are.

whatever you do don't just walk out. give proper notice even if you're quitting for good cause. it shows you were professional and tried to handle things the right way

Another thing to consider - if your employer contests your unemployment claim (which they probably will if you quit), you might end up in a hearing. I had to do a phone hearing where I explained my side to an administrative law judge. It was nerve-wracking but having all my documentation ready helped a lot.

I tried to get help from Washington ESD about this exact question before I quit my job but couldn't get through on the phone. Ended up using Claimyr to actually reach someone who could give me specific advice about my situation. Worth it just for the peace of mind of knowing I was doing everything right.

constructive dismissal is another angle to consider. if they're making your job so miserable that any reasonable person would quit, that's basically the same as being fired. but you still need to document everything

My advice is to start looking for a new job BEFORE you quit if possible. Even if you get approved for unemployment, it's not going to be enough to live on comfortably. Plus having a job lined up makes the whole process less stressful.

Don't forget that even if you get approved for unemployment after quitting, you still have to meet all the other requirements - filing weekly claims, job searching, being available for work, etc. The work search requirement is 3 job contacts per week in Washington.

The bottom line is that quitting doesn't automatically disqualify you from unemployment, but you need to have a really solid case for good cause. If your boss is truly creating a hostile work environment, document everything and be prepared to prove it. Don't suffer in silence just because you're worried about benefits.