What qualifies unemployment benefits in Washington - confused about eligibility requirements

You need to meet several requirements for Washington ESD unemployment benefits. First, you must have earned enough wages during your base period (usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters). You also need to be unemployed through no fault of your own, able and available to work, and actively seeking work. For your retail job, if they cut your hours significantly, that could qualify as constructive dismissal.

The gig work might be tricky depending on how you were classified. If you got a 1099 instead of a W-2, you probably weren't paying into unemployment insurance. But the retail job should count if you worked there long enough and they took unemployment taxes out of your paychecks.

I had a similar situation last year and it took forever to get through to someone at Washington ESD to clarify my eligibility. The phone lines are always busy and the website doesn't give you personalized answers. I ended up using Claimyr to get connected to an actual agent who could look at my specific work history. They have a service at claimyr.com that helps you get through the phone system - there's even a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works.

Don't forget about the job search requirements too. Even if you qualify initially, you have to be actively looking for work and document your job search activities. Washington ESD requires 3 job search activities per week.

the system is so confusing!! i tried to figure this out last month and gave up. they make it so hard to understand if you even qualify

One thing people don't realize is that you can qualify even if you quit under certain circumstances. If your employer created an unsafe work environment, changed your job duties significantly, or cut your hours drastically, that might qualify as 'good cause' for leaving.

Also remember you have to file your weekly claims every week even while your initial claim is being processed. Don't wait for approval to start filing weekly claims or you could lose benefits for those weeks.

I'm dealing with something similar right now. Been waiting 3 weeks for Washington ESD to review my claim and determine if I qualify. The waiting is the worst part because you don't know if you're wasting your time with the weekly claims.

The wage verification is what takes forever. If you worked for small companies or your employer doesn't respond quickly to Washington ESD's requests, it can drag out the process. Make sure you have all your pay stubs and W-2s ready in case they ask for additional documentation.

Another option if you can't get through to Washington ESD is to use one of those calling services. My cousin used Claimyr when she had questions about her eligibility and they got her connected to an agent within a couple hours instead of her spending all day calling.

Don't forget that if you do qualify, your benefit amount is based on your highest earning quarter during the base period. So even if you had low earnings overall, if you had one good quarter it could still result in decent weekly benefits.

Just be prepared for the paperwork if your claim gets flagged for additional review. I had to provide bank statements, tax returns, and a detailed explanation of my work history. The whole process took almost 2 months.

The key thing is to be completely honest on your application. Don't try to hide the gig work or embellish your hours at the retail job. Washington ESD will verify everything anyway, and inconsistencies just create more delays.

One more thing - if you get denied initially, don't give up. You can appeal the decision and many people win their appeals, especially in cases involving hour reduction or constructive dismissal situations like yours.

Based on what you've described, you should definitely apply. Having your hours cut that dramatically is exactly the kind of situation unemployment is designed to help with. The worst they can do is say no, but you might be surprised and qualify.

If you do run into issues getting through to Washington ESD for questions, that Claimyr service mentioned earlier is actually pretty solid. I used it last month when I needed to clarify something about my claim status and they got me connected in like 2 hours instead of me wasting the whole day calling.