r/UnemploymentWA • u/Zyoneatslyons • Apr 01 '23
Roadmap Content Updated, See Within What options do I have?
So basically after a month, I have someone from the unemployment office finally on my claim. Ofcourse I’m a victim of the whole “ineligible” so that’s been fun. But what options do I have? Unemployment office is saying they cannot find my wages that were reported- former employer is apparently working with Washington state to see how my wages were reported but hasn’t got back to me and know seemingly ignoring my emails asking for an update. They don’t seem to care and I’m lost with this whole thing. This weekend will be 8 weeks with no pay all cause my former employer cannot seem to find how they reported my wages. This was a full time position w2 / whole benefits ext. unemployment needs a UBI number and or a another number that has to do with where they reported my wages. Feel this would be a good case of legal action? Idk 🤷🏻 any advice is appreciated. Job hunting is a blood bath right now and I’m starting to worry.
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u/SoThenIThought_ Admin for WEBA.Law, WA Unemployment Benefits Apr 01 '23
Ofcourse I’m a victim of the whole “ineligible” so that’s been fun. But what options do I have? Unemployment office is saying they cannot find my wages that were reported- former employer is apparently working with Washington state to see how my wages were reported but hasn’t got back to me
This is answered by following the recommendations in the following megapost, specifically in the redetermination section
- Added 2/2/2022 General FAQ: WA ESD "Am I eligible?"
You don't wait for Washington to find your wages, you give them the wage and hour data hat they need by providing pay stubs and tax documents and then you start an escalation to force them the process the data.
This was a full time position w2 / whole benefits ext. unemployment needs a UBI number and or a another number that has to do with where they reported my wages.
This number is listed on the pay stubs and tax documents that you will be providing.
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u/Zyoneatslyons Apr 01 '23
Unemployment is trying to say they cannot find the wages that were reported. I’ve provided them my w2s from the last few years, and paystubs and that’s apparently not enough proof and now is asking me to ask my former employer how they reported my wages. Former employer provided me a tax sheet/ log of everything they’ve ever reported for me and says they never denied my claim. Where this has hit a stalemate is unemployment needs a UBI number- and or some kind of number my employer would use to report my wages to the Washington
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u/SoThenIThought_ Admin for WEBA.Law, WA Unemployment Benefits Apr 01 '23
Where this has hit a stalemate is unemployment needs a UBI number- and or some kind of number my employer would use to report my wages to the Washington
The UBI number is a registration with your employer with the state of Washington and it can be cross-referenced by the employer identification number, EIN number on your pay stubs and w-2s.
This website specifically says
Do I need a Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN)?
Sole proprietors who aren’t employers usually don’t have to apply for a Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN). However, all other business types must apply for this registration whether they have employees or not. For more information about who needs an EIN or how to apply, visit the Internal Revenue Service.
Lower on this page is even a search tool to find your businesses UBI
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u/Zyoneatslyons Apr 01 '23
So if I’ve provided up to 2 years of paystubs and this information is on there- I should probably escalate this then? Why in the world is unemployment trying to say they can’t see this information, should I look at my paystubs and manually provide this information to unemployment (I’d assume they know where to look to get all this) Thank you btw
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u/SoThenIThought_ Admin for WEBA.Law, WA Unemployment Benefits Apr 01 '23
So if I’ve provided up to 2 years of paystubs and this information is on there- I should probably escalate this then?
Yes, the guidance as well as my first reply recommends to do an escalation immediately after providing the information.
Why in the world is unemployment trying to say they can’t see this information, should I look at my paystubs and manually provide this information to unemployment (I’d assume they know where to look to get all this) Thank you btw
I can't tell you why they are doing what they're doing because I don't work there. As you can see from these brief replies, your EIN is in the upper left hand corner of your W2, and the UBI is on your pay stub. I'm pretty sure all you got to do is start an escalation to force them to actually process the information. In the previous reply I also provided a search tool so you can locate your employer's UBI, which I found doing a brief Google search during our interaction here.
Perhaps you should do that and then start an escalation immediately. Please follow the instructions in the guidelines above which includes the information for an escalation.
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u/Zyoneatslyons Apr 01 '23
Thank you kind stranger. This helps tremendously. I’ll get on this later this morning.
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u/SoThenIThought_ Admin for WEBA.Law, WA Unemployment Benefits Apr 01 '23 edited Apr 02 '23
Excellent, great plan.
If it matters, here's some basic reasons that it may be difficult to find the wage and hour data within the state's system, not having actually processed your wage information
The company just has not been doing the mandatory wage and hour reporting (during most of the pandemic gig economy companies did not report this data until a claim was actually generated)
The company is operating as a DBA, so it has an actual different name
The company is operating as a joint venture, so it has an actual different name
The company changed its name
The company is bankrupt or out of business
The company is an LLC or ICL as part of a franchise
The company has multiple divisions, each with their own business licensing
The company changed its filing type
The company has simply not been reporting wage and hour data to Washington State, either because of one of the above reasons or because of something nefarious (? I mean shit, hey, it's possible)
The company, during onboarding, incorrectly recorded the date of birth or social of the person, and it has been reported differently ever since and therefore when the claim is filed nothing is appearing under the date of birth or social of the person applying. This can also work the other way where another person's wage and hour data is appearing in your work history, f'realz.
None of these apply and it's totally erroneous and a wild goose chase because when the rep said that they can't find your UBI or EIN number since the EIN number is literally box b on the W2, and they literally did not know what they were talking about and they were talking out of their ass just to get you off the phone because they were well aware that the information simply had not been processed and they themselves did not have a way to expedite it because they don't and that's why we have the solution to do escalations, or they were offering the simplest most likely possibility in lieu of the litany of other possibilities listed above.
----The above reply was added as a blurb..---
Within the eligibility megapost, as
[Why might this data be missing in the first place?](https://www.reddit.com/r/UnemploymentWA/comments/128jrbu/what_options_do_i_have/jej0fj3?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3)
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u/Zyoneatslyons Apr 01 '23
Sorry one last thing. I am not seeing in the guidelines above as to how to escalate this? TIA.
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u/SoThenIThought_ Admin for WEBA.Law, WA Unemployment Benefits Apr 01 '23
It's the last part of the last sentence in the redetermination section that applies here, from the mega post above
- If the wage and hour data is incomplete (and/or You want to do a combined wage claim with wages from another state from the same base year), you will need to supply 18 months of pay stubs and the last year of tax documents and request a redetermination within 1year of date of issuance of the monetary determination. Please refer to this ESD site., and this advice, and start/follow the instructions on how to do an escalation.
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u/drossdragon Apr 01 '23
It’s entirely possible the employer did not file properly with the State. This happens when they don’t keep their books properly, or when something more nefarious is going on. It is also possible they never paid into the WA State UI system. But your best answer is as suggested above, escalate and keep the pressure on until they resolve it one way or another.