Will moving back to WA after out-of-state work affect my ESD benefits eligibility?

You should qualify for a new full benefit year in Washington. When you file a new claim after the Seattle job ends, ESD will look at your base year - which is the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you file. As long as you have 680+ hours of work in that period (combining both your Oregon and Washington employment), you'll qualify. \n\nYou'll need wage records from both states, so make sure you have paystubs from the Oregon job. ESD can do a combined wage claim that pulls in your Oregon earnings, but you'll need to specifically request this. Oregon will transfer your wage credits to Washington since you're filing here.

Thanks so much for this info! So just to be 100% clear - even though I was previously on WA unemployment earlier this year, I can still qualify for a completely new claim with full benefits? I was worried they'd say I already used up my benefits or something. And do I need to do anything special to make sure Oregon reports my wages to Washington?

Dude its all about the base year trust me your fine as long as ur paying rent in Washington. I did something similar worked in Cali for 8 months but kept my Bellingham apartment and had no problems when i filed. just make sure u got tax docs from both states!!

This is actually incorrect. Maintaining a residence doesn't determine your eligibility. It's about where you WORKED and earned qualifying wages during the base year. You'll need to have a combined wage claim with work history from both states. And it's not just

I was in almost this EXACT situation last year!!!! I had worked in Idaho for 7 months but kept my WA address, came back for a job that lasted 5 months then got laid off. When I applied for benefits ESD was a COMPLETE NIGHTMARE about it. They kept asking for verification that I actually lived in WA and not Idaho. Took almost 9 weeks to get my first payment because they put me in adjudication. Apparently they thought I was trying to claim in two states at once which I WASN'T! Keep every piece of mail that shows your WA address, rental agreement, utility bills, EVERYTHING. You'll need it.

Oh no, that sounds awful! Did you eventually get approved? Did they backpay you for all those weeks in adjudication? I definitely have plenty of proof I maintained my WA residence (lease, utility bills in my name, car registration, etc). So frustrating they put you through all that!

To directly answer your question: Yes, you can qualify for a completely new benefit year with full benefits when your Seattle job ends, regardless of your previous claim. The unemployment system works on a benefit year cycle, and each new qualifying claim starts a fresh benefit year with its own maximum benefit amount.\n\nWhen you file after your Seattle job ends, ESD will automatically look at your base year earnings. Since you worked in Oregon, you'll need to file what's called a Combined Wage Claim. This allows Washington to use your Oregon wages to help you qualify.\n\nESD should automatically detect that you worked in another state when you report your employment history, but it's always good to specifically mention this to ensure they initiate the interstate wage request. You don't need to do anything with Oregon directly - the states have agreements to share this information.\n\nJust make sure you're filing in the correct state - which would be Washington if that's where you last worked before filing.

This is really helpful info, thank you! One last question - do you happen to know how long the Combined Wage Claim process typically takes? I'm worried about a delay in benefits if they have to verify with Oregon.

wate so if u worked in organ do u have 2 pay organ taxes or WA taxes? im confused cuz WA doesnt have income tax but organ does right? does this affect ur unemploymint at all?

You pay state income taxes where you earn the money, so OP would pay Oregon income tax on money earned while working in Oregon. Washington doesn't have state income tax, so earnings in WA aren't taxed at the state level. This doesn't directly affect unemployment eligibility, but when filing for unemployment, all wages from all states in your base year are considered.

I've dealt with this exact situation helping clients with interstate claims. Here's what happens when you have multi-state employment:\n\n1. Your benefits are based on your base year (first 4 of last 5 completed calendar quarters)\n2. You file in the state where you last worked (Washington in your case)\n3. Washington will automatically request wage data from Oregon\n4. This process typically adds 2-3 weeks to your claim processing time\n5. Your previous claim is completely irrelevant to your new claim\n\nThe only real issue is the delay. Combined Wage Claims take longer to process because states have to communicate with each other. I recommend using Claimyr (claimyr.com) when you file to get through to an ESD agent quickly. They can help make sure your interstate claim is being processed correctly. I've seen their video demo (https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3) and it shows how they get you through to ESD quickly instead of waiting on hold for hours.

Thank you! The delay is definitely concerning since I'll be counting on that income after the Seattle position ends. I'll check out that Claimyr service if I run into issues. Do you know if the amount of my benefit will be affected by having worked in two different states? Will they calculate based on my highest-paying quarters?

There's some misinformation in this thread. Your benefit amount will be based on your highest-earning quarters in your base year, regardless of which state those earnings came from. However, there is a potential issue nobody has mentioned: if your Oregon employer didn't correctly report your employment to Oregon's employment department, you could face delays while that's sorted out. \n\nI recommend proactively gathering:\n1. All Oregon pay stubs showing hours worked\n2. W-2 from Oregon employer\n3. Contact information for HR at your Oregon employer\n4. Your Oregon work start/end dates\n\nHave this ready before you file your new claim to minimize delays.

This is great advice - thank you! I'll gather all that documentation from my Oregon employer before I finish up there. Better to have everything ready than scramble for it later when I need benefits to start.

Beware ESD will probably put your claim in adjudication and make you WAIT FOREVER!!!! The system is literally designed to make you give up. They did this to me when I had worked in 2 states too. If your claim goes to adjudication and you can't get through to anyone, I ended up using that Claimyr service someone else mentioned and it actually worked - got me through to a real person in like 20 minutes when I'd been trying for WEEKS on my own. Just don't expect ESD to handle anything smoothly when multiple states are involved!!

Ugh, I was afraid of that. ESD was pretty hard to deal with even when I was just working in WA. Sounds like I should budget for at least a month of no income while they sort everything out. Thanks for the warning, and good to hear another recommendation for that service if I get stuck.