When do you qualify for unemployment benefits through Washington ESD?

You need to meet Washington ESD's base year earnings requirements and have a qualifying separation. Since you were laid off from your most recent job, that's a qualifying separation. For the earnings requirement, they look at your wages during your base year which is typically the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you filed your claim.

The basic requirements for Washington unemployment are: 1) You must have earned at least $1,000 in your base year, 2) Your total base year wages must be at least 1.5 times your highest quarter wages, 3) You must be unemployed through no fault of your own, 4) You must be able and available for work, and 5) You must actively search for work.

I was in a similar situation last year - laid off after working for about 10 months. The application process was pretty straightforward but getting through to Washington ESD on the phone was impossible. I kept calling and calling but could never get through to ask questions about my claim status.

The whole system is a mess honestly. I qualified based on my earnings but then they took forever to process my claim. Took like 6 weeks before I saw my first payment.

Just to clarify - when you quit your previous job due to inappropriate behavior from your manager, that could potentially be considered good cause if you can document it. Washington ESD recognizes quitting for good cause as a qualifying separation in some cases.

You should definitely apply since you were laid off. The worst they can do is deny you and then you can appeal if needed. The online application on the Washington ESD website is pretty easy to fill out.

make sure you have all your employment info ready when you apply - dates of employment, employer names and addresses, reason for separation, etc. they ask for a lot of details

One thing to know is that even if you qualify and get approved, you still have to file weekly claims and do job searches every week to keep getting benefits. It's not just a set it and forget it thing.

I qualified last year but my claim got flagged for some reason and I couldn't reach anyone at Washington ESD for weeks. Finally used that Claimyr service someone mentioned and got connected to an agent same day. Worth every penny when you're stressed about your claim.

Don't let the phone issues scare you away from applying. Most claims go through without needing to call anyone. It's just the problem cases that end up needing phone support.

Quick question - do you know if your employer is going to contest your unemployment claim? Sometimes they do that even for layoffs if they're trying to save money on their unemployment insurance rates.

Just apply already lol. You clearly meet the requirements and were laid off. Stop overthinking it and get your claim started so you can start receiving benefits.

Pro tip: when you file your weekly claims, make sure you report any income accurately. Even small amounts like odd jobs or freelance work need to be reported or you could end up with an overpayment issue later.

The waiting week thing caught me off guard when I first applied. You don't get paid for your first week of unemployment in Washington state - it's like a waiting period.

Make sure your bank account info is accurate when you apply. Direct deposit is way faster than waiting for a debit card to arrive in the mail.

i had to call washington esd when my claim was taking forever and that claimyr thing actually worked. got through in like 10 minutes instead of calling all day. they explained why my claim was held up and helped me fix it

You mentioned working in retail - depending on what kind of retail it was, there might be seasonal considerations that affect your base year earnings. But with 14+ months of work history you should definitely qualify.

Just a heads up that if your claim goes into adjudication for any reason, it can take several weeks to resolve. Don't panic if that happens - it's pretty common and doesn't mean you won't get approved.

Based on what you described you should definitely qualify. Being laid off is the clearest qualifying separation and 14 months of work history should meet the wage requirements. Good luck with your application!