Who can help file for unemployment with Washington ESD - need guidance

The Washington ESD website can definitely be confusing at first! You can file online at esd.wa.gov or call their customer service line, though the phone lines are usually pretty busy. Make sure you have your Social Security number, employment history for the last 18 months, and your most recent pay stub ready before you start.

honestly the washington esd system is a nightmare to deal with, i filed three times before it went through properly because i kept getting kicked out of the system

If you're having trouble getting through to Washington ESD by phone, there's actually a service called Claimyr that can help you connect with an agent. I found out about it at claimyr.com and they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. Basically they handle the waiting on hold part for you and call you back when they get an agent on the line.

WorkSource offices used to help with unemployment applications in person, but I think most of that moved online during COVID. You might still be able to get some assistance there though - they have computers you can use and staff who know the system.

Whatever you do, DON'T pay anyone to file your unemployment claim for you. I've seen scams where people charge money to help with applications. The Washington ESD filing process is free and you should never pay someone to do what you can do yourself.

The key things you need to know for filing: make sure you're actually eligible (worked enough hours in your base period), have all your employer information ready including exact dates and reasons for separation, and file as soon as possible after becoming unemployed. There's a waiting week but you still need to file right away.

I had a friend who tried to file and kept getting an error about missing wage information. Turns out one of her previous employers hadn't reported her wages correctly to Washington ESD. She had to contact them directly to get it fixed before her claim could go through.

If you're really struggling with the online system, you can also try filing by phone. The automated system isn't great but it might work better for you than the website. The number should be on the Washington ESD website.

One thing that helped me was writing down all my employment information on paper first before starting the online application. Dates of employment, supervisor names, addresses, phone numbers, gross wages, reason for leaving each job. Having it all organized made the process much smoother.

The most important thing is to file your claim even if you're not sure about some of the details. You can always call later to clarify or correct information. But if you wait too long to file, you might lose out on benefits for those early weeks.

BTW if you end up needing to talk to someone at Washington ESD about your application, that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier really does work. I used it last month when my claim was stuck in adjudication and couldn't get through the normal way. Worth checking out if you're having phone issues.

Also make sure you understand the job search requirements once your claim is approved. You'll need to log your job search activities and be available for work. Washington ESD is pretty strict about this stuff.

One more tip - keep copies of everything you submit and take screenshots of confirmation pages. If there are any issues later, you'll want proof that you filed correctly and on time.