Will DoorDash earnings affect my ESD claim stuck in pending for 8 weeks?

Yes, you absolutely need to report those earnings on your weekly claim, even though your claim is still pending. When ESD eventually processes your claim, they'll look at all your weekly certifications including what you've reported for work and earnings. Being transparent now will prevent an overpayment situation later. Make sure you report the gross amount (before any DoorDash fees/deductions) for the week you actually performed the work, not when you got paid.

I did instacart while waiting 4 my claim. Just make sure u report exactly what u make each week!!!! they will deduct part of ur benefit but not all of it usually. better than nothing while u wait!!!

You're absolutely right to report the earnings. Here's how it works: Washington ESD uses what's called a partial unemployment formula. You can earn up to 1/3 of your weekly benefit amount without any reduction, then after that, they reduce your benefit dollar-for-dollar. So if your weekly benefit amount is $700, you could earn up to $233 without reduction, then any amount over that gets subtracted from your benefit. The key thing is honesty - report everything accurately on your weekly claims. When your claim finally processes, they'll calculate everything correctly based on what you've reported. And yes, it's the gross earnings before DoorDash takes their cut that you need to report.

8 WEEKS?!!? That's ridiculous! I waited 3 weeks and thought that was bad. Have you tried contacting your state representative? Sometimes they can help move things along. The ESD system is such garbage.

I had my claim stuck in pending for 10 weeks last year. What finally worked for me was using Claimyr to get through to an actual ESD agent. I spent weeks trying to call on my own with no luck, then used their service and got connected in about 45 minutes. The agent was able to tell me exactly what was holding up my claim (missing employer response) and push it through the same day. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 Definitely report your DoorDash earnings though - I made the mistake of not reporting some side work and ended up with an overpayment notice months later that was a huge headache to deal with.

my brothers friend did uber eats while on unemployment and they never found out lol

I'm in the same boat right now! 6 weeks pending and just started doing Amazon Flex deliveries to keep the lights on. This thread is super helpful because I wasn't sure about reporting either. Has anyone here had their claim denied AFTER waiting this long? That's my biggest fear.

Update: I called ESD this morning (actually got through after 2 hours on hold!) and the agent confirmed I should definitely report all DoorDash earnings on my weekly claims. She also told me my claim is pending because they're waiting for verification from my previous employer who hasn't responded yet. She put a note in my file to expedite it, so fingers crossed something happens soon. Thanks everyone for the advice!