r/UnemploymentWA

I was approved for my benefits this morning after 6 weeks (!) and wanted to share some tips in case they are useful to someone here. Losing a job is so destabilizing and the system is full of barriers and delays. There are resources and people available to help. Keep going!

Context: I was unexpectedly fired at the end of March with no warnings, my employer told me I violated a policy (I didn't).

What I did next:

1. Called the Unemployment Law Project for support, I left a message and they promptly called me back with solid advice on how to answer my 'Separation Issue' questionnaire: https://unemploymentlawproject.org/ If I needed to go through the appeals hearing, I would have sought out their representation.
2. Set up a free 15 minute consult call with WEBA Law, spoke with Rory who was incredibly knowledgable about the entire process and explained that the burden of proof is the employer's responsibility and to keep my responses as simple and clear as possible in the questionnaire: https://www.weba.law/
3. Included this response in my questionnaire:

'The reason is not listed or I don't know why'

'My termination was communicated to me verbally. I was not given a specific policy, rule, or expectation that I failed to meet. I accessed files I have always had authorized access to and was never informed that I was restricted from accessing them.'

4. After my claim was stuck in Adjudication with no movement, I called the Governor's Office at the 6 week mark (yesterday): (360) 902-4111, select the first option to connect about your unemployment.

The staff person I spoke with immediately asked for my Claim ID, submission/adjudication date information, and e-mail and let me know they submitted a request for my claim to be escalated. Later that day, I received a secure message from ESD letting me know my claim had been assigned to a staff person to review. The staff person in the Governor's Office mentioned that ESD usually sends messages like this when claims are successfully escalated.

I also e-mailed my district Senator through this website, ccing the state reps: https://app.leg.wa.gov/districtfinder

Here is a copy of my e-mail, someone responded to me the same day offering to reach out to ESD about my case:

Unemployment Benefits- Support Request

Hello Senator [Last Name],

I am a constituent in [Location], and I am writing to ask for assistance with my Washington State unemployment claim that has been pending with no movement for 6 weeks.

I have continued filing weekly claims as required, but my claim has been stuck in the adjudication process since mid-April (full details below).

If your office is able to submit a legislative inquiry or request a review from ESD, I would greatly appreciate the assistance.

[Personal details and financial hardship]

Thank you for your time and help. I appreciate the work you do to support our communities.

Sincerely,

[Name]

[Location]

Claim ID: 

Claim Opened On: 

Case Number for Pending Issue: 

Status: 

Date of status change: 

5. Benefits approved today! It looks like my employer reported to ESD that I was 'Fired for violation of a reasonable company policy.'

I was prepared to submit additional documentation, go through a call with an adjudicator, or worst case be denied and file an appeal / request a hearing. ESD found that my actions were not misconduct, making me eligible to receive benefits.

It should not take this long and I know many people have been waiting even longer for a resolution. I recommend calling the Governor's Office and e-mailing your state reps to get some movement on your claim if it has been stuck in adjudication for 6 weeks or more.

I’m currently navigating an appeal with the Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) and wanted to see if anyone else has dealt with this specific level of contradiction between an employer and the state.
The Separation:
I recently separated from Amazon. During the process, I was presented with the PIVOT program and chose the severance option. Following this, Amazon HR issued me a formal letter explicitly titled "Involuntary Termination."
The ESD Determination:
Despite that letter, ESD denied my claim for benefits. Their official reasoning was: "Employee quit because they thought they would be fired. But the employer never made the decision to fire them." Because they coded it as a "voluntary quit," they determined I didn't have good cause.
The OAH Document Contradiction:
I’ve since received the case file for my appeal from the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH). In the state's own records of their fact-finding with the company, the transcript shows this direct exchange:

• Question to Employer: "What do you have as the reason for the claimant's separation?"
• Amazon’s Response: "The claimant was fired."

The Situation:
So, I have an HR letter saying "Involuntary Termination," and the employer told the state I was "Fired"—yet the state adjudicator manually coded it as a "Quit" and denied the claim.
I have filed an appeal and am currently waiting for a hearing date with an Administrative Law Judge.
Has anyone had a hearing where the state tried to argue you "quit" even though the employer’s official documentation and their direct response to the state both say "Fired" or "Involuntary"? How did the judge handle the state over-ruling the employer's own classification?

TL;DR: Amazon HR letter says "Involuntary," and Amazon told ESD I was "Fired," but ESD denied me anyway, claiming I "quit" because I chose severance over PIVOT. Looking for insight before my OAH hearing.

After a few months I finally got approved last month for my unemployment benefits thankfully! amy question is what is the best thing to do in this situation:

I am out of state for a week visiting family. Should I:

1. just not file/ claim for the week I am gone? or will that affect my approval/will I have to wait to get approved again once I come back?
2. file for the week but say I was not available for work everyday?

just want to make sure i’m doing everything correctly! thank you!!!

I was working in Washington State last year and after 5 months of unemployment and applying to over 100 jobs I finally applied for unemployment benefits. I had to look at my current circumstances and several unsuccessful attempts to secure employment and get serious about getting help. I have never applied to unemployment before. I was fired due to no fault of my own. Has anyone else been successful in receiving benefits while in the adjudication process? What steps did you take? I have contacted the Governor, Mayor of the city I was living in and finally after some direction in this group I have contacted support@leg.wa.gov. It's been 5 weeks since I initially applied. Any success stories of not having to jump through hoops to receive support? If you were successful in receiving benefits after being in the adjudication process how long did it take you?

Is Washington close to extended benefits? It looks like we’ve been at 5% UE for the last 5 months but i know it also needs to be triggered by past years being lower. I don’t quite get it, anyone know?

Hello,

I was laid off from my job as a barista with no warning last October. As I was collecting unemployment, I entered the training benefits program my college has in January. My training benefits application was denied by ESD because they claimed being a barista is a high demand position (even though I sent rejection letters from coffee companies to my appeals case file, which were approved). I'm in college to become a Legal Assistant/Paralegal/Administrative Manager, which is in high demand here.

I want to explain to the judge that I come from a low income family, that I am in school to get a better + stable job to help myself and my family, and the last 2 coffee shops I've worked at now have closed.

I appreciate ANY advice at all someone can give me ahead of my hearing with the judge. I am so, so nervous, I keep reading and rereading my case documents packet out of anxiety at this point. I've lost sleep over this. I just want to make a better life for myself.

I called the governs office 14 times and on the 15th time I was able to get to the menu. They escalated my case, it was resolved this morning. I feel so surreal right now. I want to cry. I was so scared. I have medical bills and such that are on their last warning. Yeah so just called the heck out of the office!