What does ESD 'waiting week' mean? Can it be waived or paid?

The waiting week is your first week of eligibility when you won't get paid. It's basically a one-week deductible that Washington state requires before unemployment benefits start flowing. You still need to file a weekly claim for that week though! If you don't file for it, your waiting week won't be counted and benefits will be delayed even more.

Think of the waiting week as a qualifying period. By law, the first eligible week of your unemployment claim serves as your waiting week. You must complete all eligibility requirements during this week (file your claim, be able and available, complete job search activities), but you won't receive payment for it. This has been standard in Washington for many years, although it was temporarily waived during the height of COVID. The waiting week returned in 2021 and remains in effect for all new claims filed in 2025. Important: Even though you don't get paid, you MUST file a weekly claim for your waiting week or your benefits will be delayed.

I had the same confusion when I started my claim last month! The waiting week is super frustrating when you're already stressed about money. I spent HOURS trying to get through to ESD to ask about it because the website is so vague. I finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual ESD agent instead of waiting on hold forever. They have this video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. The agent confirmed that yes, you have to file for the waiting week even though you don't get paid for it. It's just how the system works.

The waiting week is a standard part of unemployment insurance programs in most states, including Washington. During this week: - You must meet all eligibility requirements - You must file a weekly claim - You will NOT receive benefits for this week - It counts as your first week of unemployment The purpose is to create an incentive for rapid reemployment and reduce costs to the unemployment insurance system. Some states waive it during economic emergencies (like during COVID), but Washington currently enforces the waiting week requirement for all new claims. To answer the question about getting it paid at the end - no, that's not correct. The waiting week is never paid unless there's a special legislative action to retroactively pay waiting weeks (which happened temporarily during COVID but is not currently in effect).

evreyone here is right but ALSO make sure u know that if u mess up and dont file that waiting week properly u can really screw up ur whole claim!!! happened to my brother and he had to call esd like 12 times to fix it. just make sure u file every single week even that first one with no pay

I hate that they make us wait a week. I was already broke when I filed and then had to wait ANOTHER week with no money coming in. The whole system is designed to make it hard for us to get benefits we EARNED. My friend in Oregon said they don't have waiting weeks there, so why do we have to deal with this in Washington??

Thanks everyone for the helpful info! Just to make sure I understand: I need to file a claim for the waiting week even though I won't get paid, and if I don't, my benefits will be delayed. I'll make sure to do that right away. One more question - does the waiting week count toward my total benefit weeks? Like if I'm approved for 26 weeks, does that include the waiting week or is it 26 paid weeks plus the unpaid waiting week?