Is there a waiting week for unemployment in Washington ESD?

Washington eliminated the waiting week back in 2020. You should get paid for your first week if you're eligible. The delay you're seeing is probably just processing time - it usually takes a few days after your weekly claim is filed for payment to hit your account.

Yeah no waiting week anymore thank god. But make sure you filed your weekly claim correctly - if you made any mistakes it could delay everything. Also check if your claim is in adjudication, that would explain the delay.

I had the same confusion when I filed! The waiting week thing is old information that still floats around online. Washington ESD eliminated it during COVID and never brought it back. You should definitely get paid for that first week as long as you meet all the other requirements.

If you're having trouble getting through to Washington ESD to check on this, I found Claimyr really helpful - it's a service that calls them for you and gets you connected to an actual agent. Way better than sitting on hold for hours. Check out claimyr.com and they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works.

Correct, Washington State eliminated the waiting week permanently in July 2020. You are entitled to benefits for your first week of unemployment if you are otherwise eligible. The processing delay you're experiencing is normal - first-time claims often take 3-5 business days to process the initial payment even after approval.

wait so we get paid for every week we're unemployed? even the very first one? that seems different from what my dad told me about when he was on unemployment years ago

Just want to confirm what others said - no waiting week in Washington. BUT make sure you're filing your weekly claims on time every week. If you miss the deadline for filing your weekly claim, you could lose that week's benefits even though there's no waiting week anymore.

The whole system is confusing honestly. I wish they would update their website to make it clearer about the waiting week thing being gone. I spent like an hour trying to figure this out when I first filed.

Has anyone had issues with their first payment being less than expected? Mine came through but it was like $50 less than what the benefit calculator showed.

Just to add another data point - I filed three weeks ago and got my first payment exactly 4 business days after filing my first weekly claim. No waiting week, everything worked as expected. The system actually works pretty smoothly once you understand the process.

Make sure you set up direct deposit if you haven't already. Getting the debit card takes longer and then you have to deal with ATM fees and stuff. Direct deposit is much faster and more convenient.

I remember being so confused about this too! The waiting week elimination was one of the good changes that came out of the pandemic response. Makes a huge difference when you're already stressed about losing your job.

FYI if anyone runs into problems getting answers from Washington ESD, that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier really does work. I was skeptical at first but used it when I had a payment issue and they got me through to someone who actually knew what they were talking about. Saved me hours of calling.

The key thing to remember is that Washington eliminated the waiting week but you still need to file that first weekly claim to trigger your payment. Don't just assume money will show up automatically after your claim is approved.

This thread has been super helpful! I was about to call Washington ESD about the same question but now I know what to expect. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences.