What day do you get your unemployment benefits from Washington ESD?

Thanks! I was getting worried it was lost somewhere in the system.

yeah same timeline for me, always comes wednesday morning

What if it's been longer than that? My claim has shown paid since last Tuesday but still nothing in my account.

That's definitely unusual. You might need to contact Washington ESD to check if there's an issue with your payment method or if there's a hold on your account.

Ugh I've been trying to call for days but can't get through. The phone lines are always busy.

Really? How much does something like that cost?

It's worth checking out their site for details. I was just relieved to finally talk to someone about my payment issue instead of getting hung up on constantly.

Never heard of this but might be worth trying. I've wasted so many hours trying to get through to Washington ESD.

Yep, I have a credit union and always get mine Tuesday evening

Good to know! I have Chase so probably Wednesday for me.

What time on Sunday is the cutoff?

i think its like 11:59 pm but i always do mine saturday just to be safe

The weekly claim filing window is actually Sunday 12:01 AM through Saturday 11:59 PM. So you have all week to file, but most people do it Sunday to get paid faster.

What would cause it to not show paid?

Could be anything - job search requirements not met, identity verification needed, work reporting issues. Washington ESD is pretty strict about following all the rules.

How many job searches do you have to log each week?

Three per week minimum, and they have to be legitimate job applications or contacts with employers.

They actually verify those? I thought it was just honor system.

Oh they definitely audit people randomly. Friend of mine got audited and had to provide proof of every job contact for the past 6 weeks.

True that! Getting through to talk to someone is a nightmare but the payments are reliable.

That's exactly why I ended up using Claimyr when I had an issue. The payment system works fine but when you need to actually speak to someone it's impossible.

Standby payments follow the same schedule as regular UI benefits. The only difference might be if you're waiting for employer confirmation of your standby status.

Good to know, thanks! My employer already confirmed everything so should be the same timeline.

Yeah those were rough times. Took weeks sometimes to get paid back then.

Glad I didn't have to deal with that chaos! Sounds like timing is much more predictable now.

Easier said than done with their phone system!

This is where services like Claimyr really help. I wasted three days trying to get through on my own before using their system to actually reach an agent.

What kind of issues usually cause payment delays?

Most common ones I've seen are identity verification holds, job search requirement issues, or problems with work/wage reporting.

Yeah I've been checking there every day since I filed. Shows 'paid' but wanted to know when to expect the actual deposit.

The website is good for status but useless if you actually need help with an issue. That's when you need to talk to a real person.

What if Sunday is a holiday?

System still processes on holidays, it's automated. Only thing that might delay it is if Monday is a bank holiday.

How did you handle the identity verification? Did you have to mail documents?

Had to upload documents through their secure portal and then wait for manual review. Took forever but eventually went through.

Identity verification issues are another good reason to be able to reach Washington ESD by phone. Sometimes talking to an agent can speed up the process if you have questions about what documents they need.

Direct deposits show up as 'WA ST ESD' or similar on your bank statement. If you get a debit card instead, that's through a different processor.

Perfect, thanks! I have direct deposit set up so I'll watch for that.