Washington ESD claim denied - what is low unemployment rate doing to my benefits?
My Washington ESD unemployment claim got denied last week and I'm trying to understand if the low unemployment rate in our area affected my eligibility. The letter mentioned something about 'labor market conditions' but didn't explain much. I worked in retail for 8 months before getting laid off in December. Has anyone else had their claim denied because unemployment is supposedly low right now? I thought if you got laid off through no fault of your own you'd automatically qualify.
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Carmen Reyes
The unemployment rate in your area doesn't directly affect your individual eligibility for Washington ESD benefits. If you were laid off, you should qualify as long as you meet the work history and wage requirements. What specific reason did they give for the denial?
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StarSurfer
•The letter said 'insufficient work history' but I worked 8 months full time. That should be enough right?
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Carmen Reyes
•It's not just about how long you worked - Washington ESD looks at your wages during the base period. You need to have earned at least $3,848 total and have wages in at least two quarters.
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Andre Moreau
i got denied too last month, took forever trying to call them to figure out why. kept getting busy signals
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StarSurfer
•How did you finally get through? I've been trying to call for days.
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Andre Moreau
•honestly gave up calling and used this service called claimyr.com that calls for you. they have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ and it actually got me connected to someone at Washington ESD
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Zoe Christodoulou
Low unemployment rates can affect benefit duration and job search requirements, but not initial eligibility. Washington ESD uses your individual work history and reason for separation. If you were laid off due to lack of work, that's considered a qualifying separation. You should definitely appeal this denial.
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StarSurfer
•How do I appeal? The letter was pretty confusing about the process.
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Zoe Christodoulou
•You have 30 days from the determination date to file an appeal. You can do it online through your SecureAccess Washington account or mail in the appeal form. Make sure to include any pay stubs or employment records that show your work history.
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Jamal Thompson
•^^this is good advice. I appealed mine and won after they initially said I didn't have enough wages
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Mei Chen
THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS RIGGED! They deny everyone hoping you'll just give up and not appeal. I've been fighting them for 2 months over my claim
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CosmicCadet
•What's your situation? Maybe someone here can help figure out what's going on.
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Mei Chen
•They keep saying I quit my job when I got laid off. My boss even wrote a letter saying it was a layoff but Washington ESD won't accept it
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Liam O'Connor
I think you might be confusing two different things. The unemployment rate being low doesn't make it harder to get benefits - it might actually make job search requirements stricter though. When unemployment is low, they expect you to find work faster.
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StarSurfer
•That makes sense. So the denial is probably just about my work history then, not the job market.
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Liam O'Connor
•Exactly. Focus on gathering your employment records for the appeal. If you really worked 8 months full-time, you should have enough wages unless it was minimum wage or part-time hours.
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Amara Adeyemi
same thing happened to my cousin in spokane, turned out she didn't work enough hours in one of the quarters they look at
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StarSurfer
•How did she find out which quarters they were looking at?
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Amara Adeyemi
•i think she called and asked, or maybe it was on her determination letter somewhere
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Zoe Christodoulou
Just to clarify the base period calculation - Washington ESD looks at your wages from the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you filed. So if you filed in January 2025, they'd look at January-December 2024. You need wages in at least two quarters and total wages of $3,848 minimum.
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StarSurfer
•I started working in April 2024 and got laid off in December. Would that cover enough quarters?
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Zoe Christodoulou
•That would be three quarters - April-June, July-September, and October-December 2024. Should be enough if you were full-time the whole period.
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Carmen Reyes
•Make sure you have pay stubs from all three quarters to prove the wages. Sometimes employers don't report correctly to Washington ESD.
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Giovanni Gallo
Low unemployment just means there's more jobs available theoretically but it doesn't change the rules for getting benefits
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StarSurfer
•Good to know, thanks. I was worried they were making it harder to qualify.
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CosmicCadet
I was in a similar situation and it turned out my employer hadn't reported my wages correctly to Washington ESD. Had to get my HR department to send corrected information. Took 6 weeks to sort out but I eventually got approved and back pay.
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StarSurfer
•How did you find out your wages weren't reported right?
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CosmicCadet
•When I appealed, the hearing officer mentioned the wages Washington ESD had on file were way lower than what I claimed. That's when I realized something was wrong.
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Fatima Al-Mazrouei
•This happened to me too! My old company's payroll service screwed up the quarterly reports
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Dylan Wright
honestly the phone system at washington esd is impossible. tried calling 47 times yesterday
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Andre Moreau
•try that claimyr thing I mentioned earlier, saved me so much time and frustration
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Dylan Wright
•is it legit though? seems weird paying someone to make phone calls for you
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Andre Moreau
•yeah it's real, they just call and wait on hold for you then connect you when an agent picks up. worth it when you need answers fast
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NebulaKnight
Wait so if unemployment is low does that mean they make you apply to more jobs? I heard something about that
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Zoe Christodoulou
•Yes, in some states they adjust job search requirements based on local unemployment rates. In Washington, you typically need to make 3 job search activities per week, but they can increase that if jobs are plentiful in your area.
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NebulaKnight
•that's annoying, like finding a good job is just about applying to more places
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Sofia Ramirez
My sister had her claim denied initially but got approved on appeal. She said the key was having all her documentation organized - pay stubs, W2s, the layoff notice from her employer.
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StarSurfer
•I have most of that stuff. Did she need anything else for the appeal?
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Sofia Ramirez
•I think she also included a timeline of her employment and copies of any emails about the layoff. Better to have too much documentation than not enough.
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Jamal Thompson
Just went through this whole process myself. The key is don't panic about the initial denial - lots of people get denied at first and then approved on appeal. Washington ESD processes so many claims they sometimes make mistakes on the first review.
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StarSurfer
•That's reassuring to hear. How long did your appeal take?
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Jamal Thompson
•About 3 weeks from when I submitted it to when I got the decision. Then another week to start getting payments.
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Dmitry Popov
the determination letter should show exactly what wages they have on file for you, check that against your pay stubs
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StarSurfer
•I'll look at it again more carefully, thanks
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Ava Rodriguez
I work in HR and see this all the time. Sometimes the issue is that people think they worked 'full time' but were actually classified as part-time or temporary, which affects wage calculations. Make sure you know exactly how you were classified.
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StarSurfer
•I was definitely full-time, 40 hours a week. Had benefits and everything.
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Ava Rodriguez
•Then you should definitely appeal. With 8 months full-time you should easily meet the wage requirements unless there was a reporting error.
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Miguel Ortiz
Pro tip: when you file your appeal, be very specific about why you think the denial was wrong. Don't just say 'I disagree' - explain exactly what evidence you have that contradicts their decision.
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StarSurfer
•Good advice, I'll make sure to be detailed in my appeal letter.
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Zainab Khalil
UPDATE: I tried using Claimyr like someone mentioned and actually got through to Washington ESD! Turns out my employer did report my wages wrong - they had me down as working only 6 months instead of 8. The agent said I need to get corrected information from my employer and resubmit. At least now I know what the problem is!
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Andre Moreau
•awesome! glad claimyr worked for you too
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Zoe Christodoulou
•That's great news! Getting the correct wage information should resolve everything. Make sure your employer submits the corrected quarterly reports to Washington ESD directly.
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StarSurfer
•wait this is the OP responding from a different account - thanks everyone for the help!
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QuantumQuest
this thread was really helpful, bookmarking in case I ever need to appeal something with washington esd
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Connor Murphy
•same here, lots of good info about the wage requirements and appeal process
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