Washington ESD appeal decision was affirmed - what does this mean for my benefits?

That's what I was afraid of. So there's really nothing else I can do at this point?

You do have one more option - you can appeal to the Board of Appeals within 30 days of receiving this decision. It's your final chance in the appeals process.

Did you try appealing to the Board of Appeals after your decision was affirmed?

yeah I did but that was also denied. took like 3 months to get that final decision too

Thanks for the suggestion! I definitely need to talk to someone who can explain my options clearly.

Never heard of this service before but if it actually gets you through to ESD that would be amazing. Their phone system is absolutely terrible.

It really does work. I was skeptical too but got connected to a real ESD adjudicator who walked me through my whole case.

Affirmed means the original decision stands (bad for claimant). Reversed means they overturned the original decision (good for claimant). Remanded means they're sending it back for more review.

Oh that makes sense now. So affirmed is definitely the worst outcome you can get on an appeal.

What kind of legal errors would they consider? The hearing officer didn't seem to give much weight to my documentation about the unsafe conditions.

Things like if they didn't follow proper procedure, misapplied the law, or if there wasn't substantial evidence to support their conclusion. Documentation issues might count if they were improperly excluded.

I totally understand that feeling. It's exhausting to keep fighting when you're already stressed about money.

same here, at some point you have to cut your losses and move on

I did file an OSHA complaint but it was still being investigated when I quit. Maybe that hurt my case?

That could definitely be a factor. They often want to see that you tried other remedies first before quitting, like reporting to supervisors or waiting for OSHA resolution.

Thank you, I really needed to hear that today. This whole process has been so demoralizing.

That's really valuable insight. I think I will try reaching out to them to better understand what happened with my case.

Yes, 30 days from the date you received the affirmed decision. The appeal has to be in writing and explain what legal errors you think were made.

That's not much time to figure out if there were legal errors, especially if you don't have a lawyer.

From filing my first appeal to getting the affirmed decision was about 6 weeks total. The hearing itself was scheduled pretty quickly.

That's actually faster than I expected. I've been waiting 8 weeks just for my initial determination.

Thanks for breaking it down so simply! Sometimes they use such confusing language for basic concepts.

I've thought about it but I'm already struggling financially. Are there any free legal aid services that help with unemployment appeals?

Some legal aid societies do help with unemployment cases. You can also try contacting the state bar association for referrals to attorneys who might work on contingency.

Really? That gives me some hope! Do you know what made the difference in her Board of Appeals case?

I think it was because the hearing officer didn't properly consider some of her evidence. the Board said there was substantial evidence to support her claim that wasn't given proper weight

The decision letter was pretty brief honestly. It just said they agreed with the hearing officer's conclusion that I didn't meet the good cause standard for quitting.

That's frustratingly vague. A good Board of Appeals argument might focus on whether they adequately explained their reasoning or considered all your evidence.

Good point! I wasn't sure about that. So I should keep filing even though I'm currently disqualified?

Yes, absolutely keep filing weekly claims. If you eventually win your appeal, you'll get retroactive benefits for all those weeks you filed.

Can you explain what that means exactly? What's the difference between legal issues and facts?

Facts are what happened (you quit because of unsafe conditions). Legal issues are whether the hearing officer applied the law correctly to those facts (did they use the right standard for 'good cause').

That's exactly how I'm feeling right now. Like they're hoping I'll just get exhausted and stop trying.

That's really helpful to know. I think I'm going to try contacting them to get more clarity on whether I have grounds for a Board of Appeals case.

Thank you for saying that. This whole experience has definitely been a learning process, even if it didn't turn out how I hoped.