Washington ESD overpayment notice - what is the ideal rate of unemployment benefits to avoid issues?

The general rule is you can earn up to your weekly benefit amount minus $5 before they start reducing your UI payment. So if your weekly benefit is $400, you can earn up to $395 without any reduction. Anything over that and they start dollar-for-dollar deductions.

I've been through this exact situation. The key thing people miss is that Washington ESD looks at gross earnings, not net pay. So if you earned $300 but only took home $240 after taxes, they use the $300 figure for calculations.

Honestly the Washington ESD phone system is impossible to get through to ask these questions. I spent 3 hours on hold last month just to get disconnected. Someone told me about this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you actually reach an agent - they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Might be worth trying to get a real explanation of your overpayment.

there's no ideal rate really, it all depends on your specific weekly benefit amount and what you earn each week. the system is designed so you can work part time but if you earn too much in any given week you lose benefits for that week

The Washington ESD system is set up to fail claimants honestly. They make the rules so complicated and then hit you with overpayments when you make honest mistakes. I got an overpayment notice for $1,200 even though I reported everything correctly - turned out their computer system had a glitch.

For anyone dealing with overpayments - you have 30 days to appeal from the date on the notice. Don't wait because they'll start trying to collect the money immediately.

I think the 'ideal rate' you're asking about is really about staying under your weekly benefit amount minus $5. But honestly even that can get tricky with things like tips, bonuses, or irregular schedules.

Same thing happened to my brother last year. Turns out his employer reported his wages late to Washington ESD so weeks that looked fine initially got flagged months later when the wage data finally came through.

honestly there is no ideal rate because the whole system is designed to screw over working people. they want you desperate and willing to take any job at any wage

When I had my overpayment issue I used Claimyr to get through to an actual Washington ESD agent who could explain what went wrong. Way better than trying to decipher their confusing notices on your own.

The safest approach is to earn significantly less than your weekly benefit amount if you want to avoid any issues. I kept my part-time earnings to about 60% of my weekly benefit and never had problems.

Keep all your documentation! Pay stubs, time sheets, anything showing what you earned and when. You'll need it for the appeal process.

The real issue is Washington ESD's computer systems don't talk to each other properly. Your weekly claims go into one system but employer wage reports go into another and sometimes there are months of delay before they cross-reference everything.

I know someone who got an overpayment notice reversed by using that Claimyr service to reach an agent who actually reviewed their case properly. Sometimes it's just a matter of getting someone competent to look at your file.

Bottom line - report everything accurately and keep records of what you report. If you still get an overpayment notice, appeal it if you think it's wrong. Don't just accept it.