Washington ESD disqualified me this week - why was i disqualified for unemployment this week?
I've been filing my weekly claims for about 6 weeks now with no problems, then suddenly this week Washington ESD shows I'm disqualified. There's no explanation in my account and I can't figure out what changed. I've been doing my job search activities and reporting them correctly. Has anyone else had their claim suddenly get disqualified after weeks of normal payments? What could cause this to happen out of nowhere?
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Liam O'Reilly
This happened to my coworker last month. Usually it's something in your job search log or maybe you didn't report some work hours correctly. Check your claim history to see if there's any new correspondence from Washington ESD.
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Aria Washington
•I checked everywhere and don't see any messages or letters. My job search log has been the same format every week.
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Chloe Delgado
Common reasons for sudden disqualifications include: not meeting the 3 job search activities per week requirement, reporting work hours incorrectly, or failing to respond to a request for information. Sometimes Washington ESD sends notices through regular mail that don't show up online immediately.
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Aria Washington
•I definitely do my 3 job contacts every week and haven't worked at all. Maybe there's a letter coming in the mail?
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Ava Harris
•Yeah they still send important stuff by regular mail sometimes, which is super annoying in 2025
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Jacob Lee
You need to call Washington ESD right away to find out what's going on, but good luck getting through. I tried calling for 3 days straight last week and kept getting disconnected.
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Aria Washington
•That's what I'm worried about. I've tried calling twice today and both times got the busy signal after waiting 20 minutes.
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Emily Thompson
•I had the same calling problem until I found Claimyr.com. It's a service that calls Washington ESD for you and gets you through to an actual agent. They have a demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Saved me hours of calling.
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Sophie Hernandez
SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME!! Filed for 8 weeks no problem then BAM disqualified. Turned out I accidentally put the wrong date on one of my job contacts and it flagged my whole claim. Took 3 weeks to get it fixed.
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Aria Washington
•Oh no, how did you find out it was the date issue? Did you eventually get through to someone on the phone?
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Sophie Hernandez
•Yeah I finally got through after using that Claimyr thing someone mentioned. The agent told me exactly what the problem was in like 5 minutes.
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Daniela Rossi
Check if you maybe missed reporting some small amount of income, even like $20 from odd jobs or gig work. Washington ESD is really strict about that stuff.
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Aria Washington
•I haven't had any income at all since I got laid off. This is so frustrating not knowing what I did wrong.
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Liam O'Reilly
Another possibility is that your former employer contested your claim. Sometimes they wait a few weeks before filing their response, which can cause a sudden disqualification while Washington ESD reviews it.
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Aria Washington
•That would be really messed up since I was laid off due to downsizing, not fired for cause or anything.
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Chloe Delgado
•Unfortunately employers contest claims all the time even for legitimate layoffs. It's usually about trying to keep their unemployment tax rates low.
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Aria Washington
•That's so unfair. I guess I really do need to get through to someone at Washington ESD to find out what's happening.
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Ava Harris
Whatever you do, keep filing your weekly claims even while disqualified. If it gets overturned you'll want those weeks to count.
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Aria Washington
•Good point, I wasn't sure if I should keep filing or not.
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Jacob Lee
Just wanted to follow up - I ended up trying Claimyr after seeing it mentioned here and it actually worked. Got connected to a Washington ESD agent in about 15 minutes instead of spending all day calling. Might be worth the cost if you need answers fast.
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Aria Washington
•Thanks for the update! I'm definitely going to try that if I can't get through tomorrow morning.
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Ryan Kim
•How much does it cost? I've been trying to reach them for 2 weeks about my own issue.
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Jacob Lee
•Check their website, but honestly it was worth it just to not waste more time on hold. The agent was able to tell me exactly what documents I needed to submit.
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Zoe Walker
this is why the unemployment system is broken, they disqualify people for no reason and then make it impossible to find out why
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Elijah Brown
•Right? And then you're left scrambling to figure out how to pay bills while they take weeks to fix their mistake.
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Chloe Delgado
OP, if you do get through to Washington ESD, ask specifically for the reason code for your disqualification. They should be able to tell you the exact section of law or requirement that triggered it. This will help you understand what to appeal or correct.
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Aria Washington
•That's really helpful advice. I'll make sure to ask for the specific reason code when I talk to someone.
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Maria Gonzalez
Same boat here. Got disqualified week 5 and still haven't figured out why. The online account just says 'disqualified' with no details. So frustrating.
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Aria Washington
•Have you tried calling yet? Sounds like that might be the only way to get real answers.
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Maria Gonzalez
•I've tried but haven't gotten through. Might have to try that Claimyr service people are talking about.
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Natalie Chen
Could be an issue with your eligibility interview if you had one scheduled and missed it or if there were inconsistencies in your answers.
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Aria Washington
•I did do an eligibility interview over the phone about 3 weeks ago. Everything seemed fine though.
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Natalie Chen
•Sometimes they flag things from those interviews later when they review the file more carefully. Definitely need to call to find out.
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Santiago Martinez
Update us when you find out what happened! I'm curious because I'm worried the same thing might happen to me.
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Aria Washington
•Will do! Hopefully I can get some answers tomorrow.
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Samantha Johnson
Don't panic too much - a lot of disqualifications end up being temporary while they verify information. But yeah you definitely need to call to find out what's going on.
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Aria Washington
•Thanks, that makes me feel a little better. I was starting to think I'd never get benefits again.
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Emily Thompson
Just to clarify about Claimyr since a few people asked - you don't give them any personal info, they just handle the calling part and connect you directly to Washington ESD. The video demo I mentioned shows exactly how it works if anyone's curious.
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Nick Kravitz
•That's good to know, I was wondering about the privacy aspect.
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Hannah White
I work part time at a law office and see this stuff sometimes. Employer contests are super common even for layoffs. Sometimes it's just automatic from their HR system.
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Aria Washington
•That's really interesting insight. I had no idea employers could just automatically contest claims.
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Michael Green
Whatever the reason is, make sure you appeal if it's wrong. The deadline is usually 30 days from when they mail you the disqualification notice.
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Aria Washington
•Good reminder about the appeal deadline. I'll be watching for that letter in the mail.
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Mateo Silva
been there, it sucks not knowing why. hope you get it sorted out quick
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Aria Washington
•Thanks, me too!
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Victoria Jones
Keep us posted OP! This thread has been really helpful for understanding what could go wrong with claims.
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Aria Washington
•Definitely will update once I know more. Thanks everyone for all the helpful suggestions!
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