What does disqualification week mean for Washington ESD unemployment benefits?

A disqualification week means Washington ESD determined you weren't eligible for benefits that specific week. Common reasons include working too many hours (over 32), not being available for work, or not meeting job search requirements. Since you worked 15 hours, that's not the issue. Did you mark yourself as unavailable for work that week for any reason?

A disqualification week means Washington ESD determined you weren't eligible for benefits for that specific week. This could happen if you worked too many hours, earned too much money, weren't available for work, or didn't meet job search requirements. Check your correspondence in your SecureAccess Washington account - they should have sent you a determination letter explaining the reason.

same thing happened to me last year, one week just randomly got disqualified and I never figured out why. tried calling washington esd like 50 times but could never get through to anyone

same thing happened to me but it was because i missed reporting some door dash earnings from a weekend. the disqualification week just means you dont get paid for that one week, it doesnt mess up your whole claim

There are several reasons Washington ESD might disqualify a week: 1) You worked more than full-time hours (32+), 2) You weren't available for work (sick, traveling, etc.), 3) You didn't complete required job search activities, 4) You refused suitable work, or 5) There was an issue with your work separation. For just one week, it's probably #2 or #3.

UGH the Washington ESD system is so confusing! I had three disqualification weeks in a row and panicked thinking I'd lose all my benefits. Turns out I just wasn't logging my job searches correctly in WorkSourceWA.

You can appeal a disqualification week if you believe it was issued in error. You'll need to request an appeal through your Washington ESD account within 30 days. Make sure you have documentation showing you met all requirements that week.

Don't panic about disqualification weeks - they're pretty routine. I've had several over the past year for various reasons (missed job contacts, vacation week where I wasn't available, etc.). As long as you keep filing your weekly claims and meet requirements going forward, it won't impact your future benefits. Just make sure to be extra careful with your reporting.

check your correspondence in your esd account, they usually send a letter explaining why the week was disqualified. look under 'letters and notices' or whatever they call it now

I had this issue and couldn't get through to Washington ESD to get clarification for weeks. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me reach an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. The agent was able to explain exactly why I got the disqualification and what I needed to do to avoid it in the future.

I've been on unemployment for 8 months and never had a disqualification week until last month. Found out it was because I answered 'no' to being able to work when I had a minor medical procedure. Even though I was only unavailable for 2 days, they disqualified the whole week!

Had the same issue and used Claimyr to get through to Washington ESD. The agent explained that my disqualification was due to not reporting a job interview correctly. Apparently if you have an interview, you need to report it specifically, not just mark that you contacted the employer.

whatever you do dont ignore it! i ignored a disqualification week thinking it was just a mistake and it turned into a whole overpayment mess later. definitely worth figuring out what happened

DISQUALIFICATION WEEKS ARE THE WORST! I had three in a row because of some stupid technicality about my availability. Lost almost $2000 in benefits and Washington ESD acts like it's no big deal. The system is broken.

The most common reason I see for single week disqualifications is the job search requirement issue. Washington ESD requires 3 job search activities per week, and they all need to be properly documented in WorkSourceWA. If you miss even one week of proper documentation, that week gets disqualified.

Does anyone know if disqualification weeks affect your total benefit amount or just that one week's payment?

I work part-time and got disqualified for a week because I earned too much that week with overtime. If your earnings exceed your weekly benefit amount, you get disqualified instead of just reduced benefits. Super confusing system.

The Washington ESD phone system is absolutely terrible for getting answers about stuff like this. I tried calling about my disqualification week for 3 weeks straight before giving up and just accepting I'd never know why.

Update: I found the determination letter and it was definitely my mistake with reporting earnings. I worked 15 hours that week and reported it wrong on my weekly claim. Looks like I just have to accept the disqualification for that week and be more careful going forward.

Wait, so if you work part time you can still get some unemployment? I thought any work disqualified you completely.

Update us when you figure out what caused it! I'm curious since I've been paranoid about getting disqualified myself.

just a heads up that if you do appeal the disqualification week, it can take forever to get a hearing scheduled. mine took 3 months last year

The key thing about disqualification weeks is they're usually isolated incidents. As long as you learn from whatever caused it and don't repeat the same mistake, it won't affect your overall claim. I had one early in my claim period and still collected benefits for 20+ weeks after that.

One more thing - make sure to keep filing your weekly claims even with the disqualification week showing. Don't let it mess up your ongoing eligibility for other weeks.

been there with the earnings reporting confusion. the washington esd system makes it so confusing to figure out how to report irregular work like uber or temp jobs. wish they had better examples on their website

I had a disqualification week because I went on vacation and marked 'not available for work' but forgot that meant I wouldn't get paid for that week. Lesson learned!

Does anyone know if disqualification weeks affect your total benefit duration? Like if I'm supposed to get 26 weeks of benefits and I have 2 disqualification weeks, do I get 28 weeks total or still just 26?

Pro tip: always double-check your weekly claim before submitting it. I review mine three times now after getting burned by a disqualification week early on. The questions can be confusing but take your time with them.

Had the same confusion about disqualification weeks. Used that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier and the Washington ESD agent explained it perfectly. Apparently it's super common and nothing to stress about as long as you fix whatever caused it.

I'm dealing with this too but mine is for 'failure to report to WorkSource appointment.' Problem is I never got notice of any appointment! Anyone else have this happen?

The bottom line is disqualification weeks are just part of the unemployment system. Almost everyone gets at least one during their claim period. Don't let it stress you out too much - just figure out what went wrong and avoid repeating it.

Question about the Claimyr thing - is it legit? Seems too good to be true that they can actually get you through to Washington ESD agents.

I had a similar disqualification week situation and it turned out to be a job search documentation issue. Even though I was doing my job searches, I wasn't logging them properly in WorkSourceWA. The tricky part is you need to log activities in WorkSourceWA AND report them when filing your weekly claim - both are required. Since you mentioned being busy with your part-time job that week, double-check if you completed and logged all 3 required job search activities for that specific week. That's the most common cause of single-week disqualifications I've seen.

I've been dealing with Washington ESD for months now and disqualification weeks are unfortunately pretty common. From what I've learned, it's usually one of a few things: missing job search activities in WorkSourceWA (you need 3 per week AND they have to be logged properly), marking yourself as unavailable for work for any reason during that week, or issues with how you reported your work earnings. Since you worked 15 hours and reported it, I'd bet it's either a job search documentation problem or maybe you accidentally marked something wrong when filing that week's claim. The good news is it's just that one week - it won't affect your other benefits as long as you keep filing weekly and meet all requirements going forward. I'd definitely recommend trying to get through to an actual ESD agent to find out the exact reason though, even if it takes forever on the phone.