Hi All,

I received a denial on my unemployment benefits about three months after filing as my employer contested and stated I quit. I plan to file an appeal but would appreciate any help or guidance!

I work in a tech role and went on FMLA/WPFML in the fall of last year for mental health following an abrupt change in my boss’s attitude towards me and my performance over a three week period that ended with an unachievable PIP. I reached out to my therapist and physician a couple weeks before the PIP and started the FMLA process, and I only ended up working a couple days after the PIP.

During my FMLA leave, my therapist and physician both advised I not return to my employer to preserve my health. I also spoke with a couple lawyers who advised I pursue medical disability separation (https://des.wa.gov/services/small-agency-support/human-resources/supervisor-toolkit/separating-employment-disability-separation). At the end of my leave, my medical providers reaffirmed that I should not return to work at that employer, but that I could be cleared to work elsewhere.

I initiated the medical separation request with my employer, stating that I was not voluntarily resigning. My employer stated the link I sent only applied to government employees; however, they said they could either process my separation request or let me apply for extended leave and see if I could return after. Given my providers said no accommodations would improve my ability to continue working there, I asked that they process my separation request.

I have the email chain with HR along with my medical providers’ signed documents advising not to return to preserve my health. I am not sure what else I may need to help my case, but I’m frankly worried that what I have may not be enough.

Is there any advice or recommended actions for a case like this?

Thank you all!

I have been unemployed from my tech job since January 2026. I picked up a part time job at a store on 1st May and after 3 weeks in I have realized that its not for me because they expect me to sell credit cards. Will I get back my full Unemployment weekly amount if I quit.

Since 2 weeks I'm getting paid less because im claiming part time income. Can I quit and get the full weekly benefits for my remaining weeks?

As part of my action plan following my Work Source visit, I was instructed to create a user account @worksource.com. the registration asks that I provide my SS#. Im not comfortable providing that private info to this website. Anyone else object to this data collection? The website has a message that states a new website is coming in June.

I have a trip coming up so I won't be able to file that week. What is the best course of action, do I just ignore that week and not file or do I file but answer the questions about not being available? I just want to make sure I don't mess anything up for the week after we return. Thank you.

I had a confusing situation come up where someone at a temp agency I had applied with texted me and asked if I'd be interested in a job. It was not what I applied for and something way out of line with my interest, experience, and ability so I said no. This happened a couple of times. I've also had agencies ask about my interest in jobs that were part time (I'm looking for full time) or odd hours that I wasn't up for. But I'd naturally jump at the chance to get a job that was what I AM looking for.

I called unemployment to check and make sure my saying no to these wasn't refusing an offer of work. The person I talked to said it isn't, as they hadn't actually offered me the job--no start date or anything -they were just seeing if I'd be interested. But I talked to another person at unemployment today and mentioned this and he said that's a grey area and could be construed as a refusal, but since someone had already told me it wasn't, it's ok. Now I'm nervous, though! I don't want to get in trouble for saying I did not refuse an offer of work in these situations. Has anyone else dealt with this type of situation?

I filed an appeal regarding a denied unemployment claim last month on April 16, and was informed a hearing would be scheduled at a later date.

Last week, May 13, I received a mailed packet "Legal Mail" from the OAH with information about my hearing and the process. The problem is that the hearing had been scheduled for May 5, the week earlier. Of course I was not aware it had been scheduled, so I had not attended the hearing the previous week. I did not receive any email or other notifications that it had been scheduled before getting the mail.

The packet was postmarked as shipped on April 23 with "Quadient First-Class Mail IMI", so it should have been delivered within a week but it was not. I don't know if there is any tracking that would provide proof that it was not delivered in time.

Is there anything I can do about this? I guess I should have been checking the website every day, but I assumed I would get an email when the hearing was scheduled. I'd appreciate any advice, thank you.

I'm confused and pissed. Have been waiting for over 3 months to get a determination and of course my benefitsa, and I was just denied. They said that I "quit my prior job (that I was at for about a year) due to personal reasons".

I quit my job because I was offered a new, better paying one, where I didn't have to work 60+ hours per week. I took that job, and was let go without being given a reason, afte 30 days. I never was late, missed any days, didn't even have a chance to perform as I was still in training. They just said they didn't think it was a fit.

Now all my benefit weeks I have filed all show as "denied". Is this right? Does leaving a job for a new one and getting fired without cause disqualify me for benefits? This doesn't seem right at all. Has anyone had this happen? What did you do?

After they denied me, I got a second email asking for more information about the company that fired me/reason for termination. I'm seeing this as a good sign? But I don't get it. I have already sent them a copy of my letter of resignation to the old company and my termination letter from the new company.

I have onbiously filed an appeal but would love any insight.

Thanks!

Just wondering if anybody filed their week 1 claim and included some income from 1099 contract work. It was just $180, but after 6 days it is still pending (I know I don’t get any money for first week), and the pop up message says my claim “requires” more research. My original main unemployment claim has been processed and approved.

Just wondering if I’m going to be in limbo for weeks just because I am making a few dollars as a contractor while collecting unemployment.

Escalation to Bob Ferguson's office did it I think but I got paid today x 9 weeks. Thanks for all the help!

Was terminated on Sept. 20 from my position of 8 years 9 months.
They told me it was due to lack of work and I was free to reapply.
I received severance and reported it in the filing. I have been filing every Sunday for 10 weeks. There has been zero movement on the website.

|| || |Issue(s) pending since 9/21/2025 - Your claim requires more research. We have not decided yet whether you'll receive benefits. If you already responded to our request for information, you don’t need to contact us. We will contact you if we need more information.|

Separation from a job - 0-XXXXXXXXX - Adjudication in progress - Sep 30 2025

Date I applied: Sept. 21
I was terminated and not for cause.

From "upload a document" portion of instructions

Separation from a job - COMPANYNAME LLC - Sep 20 2025

Am I missing anything?

Everything I've read so far indicates that you should apply for Unemployment the following Sunday after you lose your job, however, what happens if you know you will be traveling for an extended period of time (2-3 months) after losing your job?

The current guidance is that if you're traveling, you're not able and available to work, and therefore wouldn't receive benefits anyways, and if you indicate that you're not AA for >4 weeks, your claim needs to be restarted.

So if I were to lose my job in September, but know I will be traveling for most of September all the way into December, should I simply wait until December to apply? My consideration is that a benefit year is 52 weeks from when you FILE the claim, and therefore filing the claim but knowing you're unavailable to claim benefits would be a waste of your benefit year. Would this cause any problems if I start a claim months later from when I lost my job?

Additionally, I used PFML and FMLA in the 2025 year -- does that affect the 680 minimum hours worked rule for me to qualify for benefits? I was paid by ESD and my employer throughout the entire duration of my leave.

Hey there!

I was terminated from my job on 10/23/2025 and immediately filed for unemployment after receiving my termination letter. I was given the option to resign in lieu of termination, but refused that option because I wanted the option to file a grievance/arbitrate with the employer. I received a letter about a week later stating how much I will receive each week and I've been filing my claims every week, but when I sign in to the portal it shows that my claim has been pending adjudication since 11/07/2025. I haven't received any other correspondence from ESD other than that one letter and I am currently in panic mode as I have no other income or resources available to pay my bills or needs.

I've tried calling ESD numerous times, both in the morning and the afternoons and am unable to get through without getting a "due to high volume, we are unable to take your call. Please call back later." message and then immediately getting disconnected.

I'm currently in the process of grieving with my union for unjust termination with the potential that it might go into arbitration. The union told me that the employer does not respond to any claims in adjudication or appeals, so even if I had resigned I would have likely still been able to get unemployment, though it would take longer than if I was terminated.

1. Is there a way to get in contact with ESD (other than calling in) to see what the status is of adjudication or if they need additional information from me?
2. Is it true that if a former employer does not respond in adjudication/appeal process that my claim will be approved automatically?
3. If I do get my job back and receive backpay from the date of termination to the date of rehire, will I have to pay back all the wages received from unemployment assuming my claim gets approved?
4. I lost about 4-5 weeks of my job search logs as I forgot to save them to my Google Drive when I did a clean install of my OS. Will this be a problem if ESD audits me?

TYIA

I’ve been checking eServices and calling ESD daily for the past six weeks and I’m still told my claim is waiting for an adjudicator to be assigned.

I have already uploaded the following documents: • My husband’s job offer letter for his new position in Boise, Idaho (accepted September 22, 2025) • Our marriage certificate • My resignation letter • The full email thread with my employer after I resigned, which shows: • They asked me to return in-person September 30–October 3 to train my replacement • I provided a new physician’s note (extending through October 31, 2025) stating I remained under active care and could only work remotely • My employer explicitly denied my request for an ADA reasonable accommodation (remote work)

Background: I was on approved Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) for a serious health condition from July through early October 2025. My original medical certification ended September 30, but PFML benefits continued until October 3, which is why I made my resignation effective October 3, 2025.

With my employer unable to accommodate remote work and my spouse relocating for his new job, I had no practical choice but to move to Boise with him—we cannot afford to maintain two households. I have a bachelor’s degree and seven years of professional Human Resources experience. Since the move, I have been actively job-searching in the same field, have completed several pre-employment assessments, and am diligently logging all search activities in the required spreadsheet.

I completely understand ESD is overwhelmed right now. I’m simply hoping for any insight into why adjudication is taking this long and, based on the facts and documentation I’ve provided, whether my claim is likely to be approved for “following a spouse” and/or medical/voluntary quit with good cause.

Thank you so much for any information you can share—truly appreciate it!

Employer (state agency) has informed me today, after I have been on PFML for 12 weeks (return to work on Monday) that they are “designating FMLA to run concurrent with PFML.”

I told them I don’t want to. Nor did they give me notice they were going to do this at the start.

Is this legal? It doesn’t feel like it should be.

All information I’ve been reading hasn’t been very clear on this.

I will provide whatever information you like.

Quit

Final day of employment 8/28

Determination letter 11/18

Appeal deadline 12/18

Laws cited in the letter: RCW 50.20.050 and WAC 192-150-085

Summary of info provided: pertinent emails, positive performance review from April, a timeline of my exit, the management's response to my organizational critique in May (I was in a leadership position).

Thank you in advance

I started my unemployment application the day after my job ended thinking I would get ahead of things. I started reading here and it seems like I will waste a week of claims since the week runs through Sat. Would it make sense to not submit a claim for that week and start the following week to extend my eligibility or is it lost regardless? Thanks!

Hello!

I've been on pending status for about 8 weeks of payment. My status has been "Adjudication in progress" since Sep 29 2025.

1) I was fired due to performance. And I have a termination letter saying I was involuntary terminated.

2) When I click "upload a document" I see "Separation from a job" and "General Documents"

3) I applied 9/19/25, the day I was terminated

I was wondering if the mods had suggestions on what to do next?

Hello u/SoThenIThought_ ,

**sorry if this is getting to you 2x. I sent a message right before I saw your note asking for people to make a post instead. So please disregard my message to the Mods**

First, THANK YOU SO MUCH for putting your knowledge out in the open regarding unemployment. Its a very emotional and humbling journey to be on and the world needs more people like you in it. So, THANK YOU.

I applied for unemployment after being laid off and my claims began Sept 27th. I have continued to submit my claims weekly.

Reason for lay off: Company restructure and my position was eliminated. I have a letter from my former employer stating this and that it was by no fault of my own. The termination was effective immediately and I did not receive any severance package.

When I applied for unemployment there was a one day overlap in my eligibility dates from the last time I claimed unemployment and the system automatically denied me. I originally thought my claim was denied due to my employer not submitting my hours properly, but ESD explained my most recent employment was outside of my eligibility window. All of that has since been resolved and I received confirmation from ESD. They told me this issue was not holding up anything on their end and I received an updated eligibility letter as well.

After additional weeks of "pending" status and once I finally got through to ESD via phone, they explained that an adjudicator would need to review my case before payments were released. They told me on the phone that an adjudicator had not yet been assigned. That was three weeks ago and nothing has changed.

I do not have anything under "pending issues" on my dashboard and i also checked under "upload a document" like you instructed in your previous posts and there is nothing there as well.

I applied, and was accepted, into SEAP (self-employment assistance program) so I have been moving forward with setting up my own company. I don't think this is necessarily relevant, but wanted to include that just in case it does have some bearing.

I am at a loss on what to do next. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I was let go from a position in September for performance and have been stuck in pending since. Is there anything I can do to speed up the process.

1. Job Separation Type: Fired

2. Open eligibility issue: Separation from a job

3. Applied September 20th.

Thank you,

I was approved for training benefits back in November 2024 and I have been satisfactorily progressing through the program. My graduation date changed due to course availability, pushed back from August 16 to October 18. This was properly reported to ESD by me and the college. When it was reported, ESD did a issue fact finding and asked for a modification for, indicating that the law allows one major change. This modification document was submitted right away, and it sat in adjudication for 13 weeks. Just a few days ago I got a letter stating that I no longer qualified because:

"We previously approved your Training Benefits (TB). Your training plan changed. You do not qualify for TB anymore because: • There are no funds for TB available at this time."

It then disqualified only the previous 13 weeks of my training benefits, going back to the issue fact finding date where the modification form was requested, and indicated I now owed an overpayment, which was declared to be my fault and that it cannot be waived (see attached image). The rest of the weeks going back to the original claim are fine. I cannot find any news on their site or the US DOL site about pulling training benefits funding. They also seem to still be accepting TB applications.

What do I do about this? Any help would be appreciated.

Case details:

1. Fired 11/18.

2. Pending Issues: Separation from a job.

3. Filed 11/23, the Sunday after.

My issue:

I am receiving payments but my separation is in adjudication and I think that with the info currently supplied to them, my claim is likely to be denied and I will be asked to pay back the money. I hadn't found this subreddit when I made my initial filing or the response to the Separation follow-up and I think I've probably complicated things and made a less than compelling case.

I am wondering whether or not it is preferable to upload an additional document outlining the situation and strengthening my position before adjudication, so they have the additional context and info beforehand, or if it's better to wait for their decision and then appeal it if the claim is denied. The three main points I feel are necessary to convey is that 1. I believe the reason for termination on the letter is not the true reason for the firing (also relevant: the action listed on the letter is phrased poorly and the way it's written, it is an absolutely necessary part of daily work at the company, but even taking it in the meaning it is intended, multiple employees have done the same thing listed on the letter and kept their jobs), 2. even if it was, it does not constitute misconduct due to unclear company policy and no documentation of expected procedure, and 3. if it did occur, it was not unsafe (which I guess comes back to 2; it was not misconduct). My boss has said "they've never contested unemployment" but I cannot trust that, it's not their decision anyway, and the letter certainly frames things in a way likely to be considered misconduct.

I'm aware that with these legal situations, it isn't simply about 'making a good case', and there are specific things to address in order to get the desired result, not just 'destroying them with logic' (hope people can tell I'm using that phrase in jest) while failing to meet the necessary criteria for approval. There is no CCTV footage of the alleged incident, and I am unlikely to be able to get current employees to admit they frequently did the thing that was given as the reason for my firing or provide information about any related situations at the workplace. It is likely going to be my word VS the boss'. I've written a comprehensive draft laying out my case, I have maps and photographs, but I would like an opinion on the proper course of action and what really needs to be included in order to get approved.

Hello. I have read some of the posts here and the guide and want to verify that I am not risking negatively affecting my claim. I have not been in adjudication as long as some of the others here, but I am following to ensure that I stay on the right path.

I filed a claim on 10/26/2025 and it went to adjudication on 11/02/2025.

My reason for sep. was relocating due to following spouse for their employment.

I did request to continue with my employer in a remote capacity out-of-state, but was denied out-of-state work.

I do have a link in uploads for "Separation from a job" and "General Documents" but I am not sure what exactly is being requested, nor if I actually need to upload anything at this point.

My claim has been active with a benefit year beginning of Jun 15, 2025. I was able to claim the first 5 weeks without any self-employment work reported.

By the the 6th week I had a short term part time contract signed with a client, and worked a few hours that week in which I reported the change. That prompted the online questionnaire about the self-employment which then opened the claim issue, which has now been in "Adjudication in progress" since Jul 28, 2025. I provided all the necessary documentation around that initial contract agreement in this questionnaire as an attachment plus marked the hours selector with the days and times I usually work that first client, which was 2 hours a week max at the time of the self employment questionnaire submission.

By the 7th week, I had signed a second contract with another client and by the 9th week I had hours to report for BOTH clients. When asked on the Type of self-employment step "Is this the same type of self-employment work you reported to us before on this unemployment claim?" question, I selected NO, as I was assuming to receive another self employment issue questionnaire after this claim report to update my availability and provide more documentation. THAT DID NOT OCCUR.

Week's 10 and beyond, I've still been reporting my hours for both clients + selecting YES on the Type of self-employment question since I had already reported the NO on week 9.

When should I expect the Self-employment issue to be followed up on in adjudication? Why did I not get another self-employment questionnaire after reporting further self-employment changes on week 9? Anything I should prepare for or attempt to remediate through communication? Potential pitfalls of the approach I took?

Notes:

I’m in a sole proprietorship setup operating on my own. NO UID # just using my social, not doing the LLC route for my 1099 work at this moment.

I’m now up to ~20 hours a week max between these two clients. But it all depends on workload and not consistent week to week. I’m still able to submit for claims.

I’m still looking for FTE, logging me 3 weekly activities and “ready & available” for 40 hours of work FTE if given the opportunity.

I submitted a reason for term email as well as my side and proof. I just don’t get what all else I’m supposed to be submitting in the work search and general documents. I also did call for escalation at the govs. Office but still no update. I am sure those weren’t the right steps but I literally have no idea what else to do.

Hello there!

I will soon be separating from active duty in Washington and was wondering what benefits I am eligible for in the State of Washington. I will be enrolled in online school and able to work. I am curious about the Training Benefits program as well as the Commissioner Approved Training Program. Thanks !

Separation Type: Laid off

Eligibility Issues: See photo

Application: 10/5/25

I have been in adjucation since 10/13/25.

What are my next steps?