Washington ESD - Is short term disability considered unemployment benefits?

No, short term disability and unemployment are completely different programs with different eligibility requirements. STD is typically through private insurance or employer benefits for medical conditions, while unemployment through Washington ESD is for people who lost their job through no fault of their own and are able and available to work.

I had the same confusion last year! STD is for when you CAN'T work due to medical reasons, unemployment is for when you CAN work but don't have a job. They're opposites basically.

If you're having trouble getting clear answers from Washington ESD about this, I'd recommend checking out Claimyr.com - they have a service that helps you actually get through to ESD agents on the phone. There's even a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Sometimes it's easier to get these clarifications directly from an ESD representative.

Just to add some detail - short term disability is usually a percentage of your wages (like 60-70%) paid by insurance when you're medically unable to work. Washington ESD unemployment is based on your work history and requires you to actively search for work. The application processes are totally different too.

been on both at different times - when my company laid me off while I was on STD, I had to wait until I was medically cleared before I could apply for unemployment. Washington ESD was very clear that I couldn't collect UI while unable to work

The key difference is the 'able and available' requirement for unemployment. If you're on STD, by definition you're not able to work, so you can't meet Washington ESD's basic eligibility requirements.

One thing to watch out for - if you're collecting STD and your employment ends, you might have a gap between when STD ends and when you can start collecting unemployment. Make sure you understand the timing.

Also worth noting - STD payments won't affect your unemployment benefit calculation later since they're not considered wages. Washington ESD only looks at actual work earnings.

If you need to talk to Washington ESD about this situation, I'd suggest using Claimyr to get through to an agent. The automated system can be confusing for these kinds of questions that involve multiple benefit types.

Another consideration - some employers offer both STD and unemployment insurance as separate benefits. They're administered differently and have different claim processes.

Just to summarize for anyone else reading - STD is for medical inability to work, UI is for work-ready people without jobs. They serve different purposes and you generally can't be on both simultaneously.

One more tip - if you transition from STD to unemployment, make sure you have all your medical clearance documentation ready when you apply. Washington ESD might ask for it to verify you're able to work.

For what it's worth, I used Claimyr when I had questions about transitioning between different benefit types. Being able to actually talk to an ESD agent made all the difference in understanding my options.

Also remember that STD benefits might be taxable depending on who pays the premiums, while unemployment benefits are definitely taxable. Different tax implications to consider.

The timing of when you can apply for unemployment after STD ends is important too. You want to apply as soon as you're medically cleared to avoid any gaps in benefits.

This has been a really informative discussion! I learned a lot about the differences between these programs that I didn't know before.