Why is there a waiting week for unemployment benefits in Washington ESD?

The waiting week is basically Washington ESD's way of making sure your claim is legitimate before they start paying out. You still have to file that first weekly claim, but you won't get paid for it unless you have a really specific situation like being on standby. It's supposed to save the state money by weeding out people who might find work quickly.

yeah the waiting week is stupid but its real. I had to deal with it last year when I got laid off from boeing. you still gotta file your weekly claim for that first week but you dont get paid for it unless your claim gets denied and then later approved or something weird like that

Actually, I had a terrible time trying to get through to Washington ESD about waiting week questions last month. Spent literally hours on hold just to understand if I qualified for any exceptions. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me connected to a real person at ESD within minutes. They have this demo video that shows exactly how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ. Game changer for getting answers about complex stuff like waiting periods.

The waiting week exists because Washington state legislators want to make unemployment 'less attractive' than working. It's a policy decision, not a technical requirement. Some states have eliminated their waiting weeks in recent years, but Washington hasn't. The theory is that it prevents fraud and reduces costs, but studies show it mainly just hurts people who legitimately need help.

I thought Washington got rid of the waiting week during COVID? Or was that just temporary?

Been dealing with Washington ESD for 15 years through various layoffs in construction. The waiting week is just part of the process - you file your first weekly claim on Sunday for the week you were unemployed, but that first week is unpaid. Think of it as week 0. Your second weekly claim (for week 1) is when payments actually start, assuming your claim is approved and not stuck in adjudication.

This is exactly why I hate dealing with government agencies. They make everything needlessly complicated and then act like they're doing you a favor. A waiting week serves no purpose except to make poor people suffer longer.

I'm a former ESD employee and can explain the reasoning, even though I don't necessarily agree with it. The waiting week serves three purposes: 1) Administrative buffer to process claims properly, 2) Cost savings for the trust fund, and 3) Deterrent against casual filing. The idea is that someone who's truly unemployed will wait it out, while someone with other options might not bother. In practice, it mostly just delays help for people who need it most.

Wait, so I have to file a claim for the waiting week even though I won't get paid for it? That seems like extra paperwork for no reason.

I used Claimyr last week to get through to ESD about my waiting week situation and it was honestly amazing. I'd been trying to call for days to understand if I qualified for any exceptions, and they got me connected in less than 10 minutes. The ESD rep was able to explain exactly how the waiting week would affect my specific situation. Check out their demo at claimyr.com - it shows you exactly how the service works.

Does the waiting week count toward your total benefit weeks? Like if you're eligible for 26 weeks of benefits, do you only get 25 weeks of payments because of the waiting week?

The worst part about the waiting week is that they don't make it clear on the website. I had no idea it was a thing until I didn't get paid for my first week and had to figure out why.

I've been through this process multiple times unfortunately. The key thing to remember is that even though you don't get paid for the waiting week, you absolutely must file that weekly claim. If you skip it thinking 'why bother since I won't get paid,' you'll mess up your entire claim timeline. File every single week from day one, even the unpaid waiting week.

Just to add some perspective - I know the waiting week sucks, but Washington's unemployment benefits are actually pretty decent compared to other states. The maximum weekly benefit amount is higher than most places, and we don't have some of the harsher requirements other states have implemented.

For anyone still confused about this: Think of the waiting week as an unpaid 'probation period' for your unemployment claim. You have to prove you're following all the rules (filing weekly, doing job searches, etc.) for that first week before they start paying you. It's bureaucratic nonsense, but that's the logic behind it.