Washington ESD unemployment age requirement - do you have to be 18 to get benefits?

That's good to know! He definitely worked enough hours, probably around 15-20 hours per week for those 8 months.

The wage requirement is usually pretty low for part-time workers so he should be fine on that front too.

Good point about the child labor laws. I hadn't thought about that affecting his job search requirements.

Yeah the job search requirements are the same regardless of age - he'll need to be looking for work and keep a log of his applications.

Have you tried using Claimyr? It's a service that helps you get through to Washington ESD agents. I used it when I couldn't reach anyone about my adjudication issue and it worked great. They have a website at claimyr.com and there's a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works.

Never heard of that but I'll definitely check it out. Getting through to an actual person at Washington ESD is nearly impossible otherwise.

For the unemployment application itself, I don't think parental consent is required. But there might be some forms or processes where being a minor could complicate things.

That's a good question. I should probably help him with the application process just to make sure everything goes smoothly.

He was just a prep cook so no tips to worry about, but that's definitely something to keep in mind for other people in restaurant jobs.

Yeah tip reporting is super important for benefit calculations. I made that mistake once and it messed up my whole claim.

He actually dropped out of high school last year, so school schedule isn't an issue. He's been looking for full-time work since getting laid off.

In that case he should be fine on the availability requirement. Just make sure he documents his job search activities properly.

That's really helpful to know! Did she have any issues with the weekly claim filing or anything like that?

Nope, the weekly claims were straightforward. She just had to report any work and wages each week like everyone else.

Good to hear a success story. Sometimes these edge cases can be tricky but sounds like Washington ESD handles minor claimants pretty normally.

True, but since he's looking for full-time work anyway, hopefully he'll find something that gets him off unemployment quickly.

And if he does end up working part-time while collecting, Washington ESD has a partial benefit system that handles that situation.

He got laid off about a week ago, so I'll help him file this weekend. Thanks for the reminder about timing!

Yeah definitely don't wait. Every week you delay filing is potentially a week of benefits you're missing out on.

I'll have him try that first before filing the actual claim. Good suggestion!

The eligibility checker is really helpful. Saved me from filing a claim I wouldn't have qualified for anyway.

Yeah I'm definitely planning to help him through the process. The Washington ESD website isn't the most user-friendly.

Having someone who's been through it before really helps. The terminology alone can be overwhelming for first-time filers.

A couple other people mentioned that service too. Might be worth trying if we hit any snags during the application process.

I was skeptical at first but Claimyr actually works. Got me connected to an agent in like 10 minutes when I'd been trying to call for weeks.

Perfect, that's exactly what I was hoping to hear. Sounds like he should be eligible based on his work history.

Yep, as long as he earned enough in his base period and lost his job through no fault of his own, he should be good to go.

Good point. I'll make sure he gathers all his paperwork before starting the application.

Having everything organized beforehand makes the whole process much smoother. Learned that the hard way on my first claim.

The restaurant seemed pretty understanding about the layoff, so hopefully there won't be any issues there.

Even when employers don't contest, Washington ESD sometimes does their own review. Just be prepared to provide details about the job loss if they ask.