Paid Family Leave hours + first UI week - Will my waiting week be waived?

same thing with me but it was vacation pay not family leave. they ended up counting my first week as the waiting week even tho i got vacation pay for 3 days of it. took almost 3 weeks to sort out though and i had to upload paystubs showing the vacation pay

Washington state law says the waiting week is the first week you'd otherwise be eligible for benefits. Since you received Paid Family Leave during that week, it gets a bit complicated. Generally, if you receive any type of pay for part of a week (including PFL), that week can still count as your waiting week as long as your earnings don't exceed your weekly benefit amount. The "pending issues" status means an ESD adjudicator needs to review your claim. They're likely verifying your PFL hours and payments to determine how it affects your UI eligibility. Unfortunately, there's nothing specific for you to do except wait for them to contact you if they need documentation. You did the right thing by reporting the expected payment, even if you had to use "sick pay" as the closest option. Better to be transparent than have problems later.

OMG the same exact thing is happening to me!!! except i had 22 hrs of PFL. its been stuck for 2 weeks now with that pending issue thing. i tried calling everyday but cant get through. SO FRUSTRATING!!!

I worked at ESD until 2023. Here's what's happening: When you report any type of payment during a week (PFL in your case), the system automatically flags it for review to determine if 1) the payment affects your eligibility for that week and 2) if that week can count as your waiting week. For the waiting week specifically, you can receive certain types of payment and still have it count as your waiting week, but the system needs human verification. PFL and UI are separate benefit programs, so there's additional complexity in how they interact. Unfortunately, these "pending issues" can take 3-4 weeks to resolve due to the backlog. There's nothing wrong with selecting "sick pay" since there wasn't a more appropriate option - the adjudicator will see it's actually PFL when they review your case.

I've been trying to reach ESD for weeks about a similar issue with no luck. I finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual ESD agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 The agent was able to look at my pending issues and explain exactly what was happening and when it would likely be resolved. Saved me weeks of wondering and worrying. Might be worth it in your situation since it sounds like you need specific answers about your PFL/UI overlap.

The UI system in Washington is COMPLETELY BROKEN!!! I had a similar situation but with worker's comp and they took SIX WEEKS to resolve my "pending issue" while I couldn't pay my bills. Why can't they just have clear options in the weekly claim form??? I spent hours on the phone just to get disconnected every single time. The whole system is designed to make us give up.

Update to my earlier comment: I just double-checked the most recent ESD handbook (2025 edition), and to clarify what one commenter said - a waiting week CAN include other types of payment as long as: 1. The payment doesn't exceed your weekly benefit amount, AND 2. You would otherwise be eligible for UI that week PFL is a bit unique because it's a separate benefit program. The adjudicator needs to determine if your partial PFL (34 hours) would make you ineligible for UI that week. If your 34 hours of PFL pay is less than your weekly UI benefit amount, there's a good chance that week will count as your waiting week, but it requires manual verification.

something also to watch for - make sure your next weekly claim is filed on time even while waiting for the first one to get sorted out. i messed up and thought i had to wait for the first week to process before filing the next one and it caused a whole new issue

Just a quick update based on what I've heard from former colleagues: ESD is experiencing higher than normal processing times for these types of issues right now due to some staffing changes in early 2025. Be prepared for 3-4 weeks for resolution. And yes, continue filing weekly claims even while waiting for the first one to be processed.