Will volunteering hours at food bank impact my ESD weekly claim eligibility?

your fine ESD specifically says volunteer work doesnt count as employment so it wont reduce benefits. i volunteered at my kids school the whole time i was on unemployment last year and never had issues. dont even need to report it

Actually, that's not entirely correct. You DO need to report volunteer hours on your weekly claim, but they won't necessarily disqualify you from benefits. The key question ESD looks at is whether volunteering impacts your availability for work. If your volunteer schedule would prevent you from accepting suitable employment, then it could affect your eligibility. From the ESD handbook: You must report ALL activities that might affect your availability for work, including volunteer work. When you report volunteer hours, ESD will evaluate if it interferes with your ability to look for and accept suitable work. As long as you're still able to conduct your required 3 job search activities per week and could quit volunteering if offered a job, you should be fine.

When I was on UI last fall, there's a question on the weekly claim that asks if you were able and available for work each day. There's also a section asking if you did any work - that's where you'd put PAID work only. Then there's another question about anything else that might have affected your ability to work or accept work - that's where you mention volunteering.

EVERYONE HERE IS CONFUSING THE ISSUE!! You absolutely MUST report ALL hours spent in ANY activity outside your home during a claim week - paid OR unpaid!!! I had a friend who got hit with a $5,700 overpayment because she didn't report volunteer work at her church!!! ESD watches social media and if they see you posting about activities you didn't report they WILL investigate you!!

My situation was similar to yours but I was volunteering at a animal shelter instead of a food bank. When I filed my weekly claim I just made sure to say YES to the question about activities that might affect my ability to work and then explained it was unpaid volunteer work that I could quit anytime if I got a job offer. Never had any issues with my payments.

If you're having trouble reaching ESD to get a clear answer on this or any other questions, I'd recommend trying Claimyr. ESD's phone lines are absolutely swamped right now with the recent tech sector layoffs, and it can be nearly impossible to get through. I was trying for days until someone here suggested Claimyr. It got me connected to an actual ESD agent in about 15 minutes who answered all my questions about my claim status. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 The ESD rep I talked to confirmed that volunteer work is fine as long as it doesn't interfere with your job search and availability for work. Just make sure to report it in the section asking about other activities that might affect your claim.

just wanted to chime in and say good for you for volunteering! when i was on unemployment last spring it helped my mental health SO MUCH to do something productive even without getting paid. food banks are struggling to find help so they'll appreciate you too!

To directly answer your question: You should report your volunteer hours in the section that asks if there was anything that affected your availability for work. In the explanation box, make it clear that: 1) This is unpaid volunteer work 2) It won't interfere with your job search activities (3 per week) 3) You would immediately stop volunteering if offered suitable employment As long as those three things are true, your benefits should not be affected. The 10 hours per week you mentioned is certainly reasonable and shouldn't raise any flags at ESD.

my bad i guess i was doing it wrong the whole time lol. lucky i never got audited by ESD!

Great question! I went through this exact situation last year when I was between jobs. The key thing to remember is that ESD cares more about your availability to work than the specific activities you're doing. I volunteered at a literacy center for about 8 hours a week and always reported it in the weekly claim under the section asking about activities that might affect availability. I wrote something like "Volunteer work at local nonprofit - unpaid, flexible schedule, would immediately stop if offered employment." Never had any issues with my benefits because I made it clear that: - It was unpaid - My schedule was flexible around job interviews - I was still doing my required job searches - I could quit volunteering immediately for a job Food bank work is especially good because it's clearly community service and shows you're staying active. Just be transparent with ESD about it and you should be fine. Good luck with both the job search and the volunteering!