What does a disqualified week mean for unemployment Washington ESD claim?

I looked through all my correspondence but don't see anything about a disqualification. Should I call them?

Yes definitely call. Sometimes the letters take a few days to show up in your account but they should be able to tell you over the phone what triggered it.

How long did it take you to get through? I've been trying to call for days but keep getting disconnected.

like 3 hours of calling over and over. super frustrating

I actually found this service called Claimyr that helped me get through to Washington ESD when I couldn't reach them myself. You can check it out at claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. Saved me hours of calling.

I did all my job searches and logged them properly. Maybe it's the earnings thing? I had a small freelance payment that week.

That could be it. If you reported earnings but didn't do it correctly, or if the amount put you over the weekly benefit threshold, it could cause a disqualification rather than just a reduced payment.

wait so freelance income counts as earnings? I thought that was only W2 jobs

Oh no, I think I might have done that too. I had a dentist appointment and thought I should answer honestly about not being available that day.

Yeah that's a common mistake. You can be available for work even if you have a few hours blocked out for appointments. The question is about your general availability, not every single hour.

totally agree, the whole system is designed to trip people up

I get the frustration but the rules are actually spelled out in the handbook. Most people just don't read it thoroughly.

How do I appeal? Is there a form I need to fill out?

There should be appeal instructions in the determination letter. You can usually do it online through your Washington ESD account or by mail.

If you can't find the determination letter, that's another good reason to call Washington ESD directly. That Claimyr service I mentioned earlier really helped me get through when I needed to ask about missing documents.

I did report my freelance payment but maybe I calculated it wrong. It was like $150 for some writing work.

That amount shouldn't disqualify you completely unless your weekly benefit amount is really low. More likely it's how you reported it or answered other questions that week.

A computer glitch?? That's so frustrating. Did they backpay you for the week?

yes they did but only after like 3 more weeks of waiting. the whole system is a mess

I did 3 job applications that week. Isn't that enough?

It should be, but make sure you logged them correctly in WorkSourceWA and that the jobs you applied for meet the suitable work criteria for your claim.

wait you have to log job searches in worksourcewa too? i thought just keeping a personal log was enough

I was laid off due to budget cuts, nothing controversial about it. But maybe they're reviewing something?

Even straightforward layoffs sometimes get reviewed if there are questions about the separation. Could be your employer contested the claim or there was missing information.

Yeah I'm definitely going to be more careful going forward. This is really stressful when you're depending on the benefits.

exactly why the system sucks, one tiny mistake and boom no money that week

There was Labor Day that week, could that be related?

Possibly! If you were getting holiday pay or if your regular work schedule was affected by the holiday, that could impact your eligibility for that week.

I'm getting desperate enough to try anything at this point. How much does that service cost?

I'd rather not discuss pricing here but it was worth it for me given how much time and frustration it saved. You can check their website for current rates.

sounds too good to be true tbh, how do you know its legit?

They have a demo video that shows exactly how it works, and they connected me to real Washington ESD agents, not some third party. You can see for yourself at that YouTube link I posted earlier.

Thanks everyone for the help. I'm going to try calling Washington ESD tomorrow and see if I can get some answers.

good luck! hope you get it sorted out quickly