One other thought - have you applied for Washington's Senior Citizen Jobs Program? It's separate from regular unemployment and specifically designed for workers 55+ who are struggling to find employment. It provides subsidized part-time work (usually 20-25 hours/week) with non-profits and government agencies. It won't replace your full income but might help bridge the gap until you find something permanent. You can apply through DSHS or your local WorkSource office.

my grandma had the same problem last year and what she did was started doing administrative work from home as an independent contractor. she found a bunch of small businesses who needed someone to do their scheduling and emails but couldnt afford a full-time person. now she has like 4 different clients and makes decent money working from her apartment. might be worth looking into since you have office manager experience?

Based on everything you've shared, I strongly recommend your husband contact his employer ASAP to verify: 1) How they reported his status that week to ESD, 2) If they have standby status approval with ESD, and 3) If they can provide a simple letter confirming the temporary layoff dates and reason.\n\nOnce you have that information, try to reach ESD directly to address the specific issue. The adjudication process is averaging 3-4 weeks currently if you don't intervene, but can be resolved much faster if you can speak with someone directly and provide the correct documentation.\n\nThis is a very solvable problem - just a matter of cutting through the bureaucracy!

Thank you for the reassurance and clear action steps! He's going to talk to his boss first thing tomorrow morning to get all this information. Fingers crossed we can get this resolved quickly.

btw make sure u keep filing ur weekly claims during all this waiting or you'll have to start all over again

I went through this exact thing in February! The 2-day wait is just bureaucratic procedure. After that, they'll escalate your claim, but don't sit back and wait! I kept following up every 3 days with both the Governor's office AND my state representative. Eventually my rep's office assigned me a caseworker who had direct contacts at ESD. My claim was fixed 9 days after initial contact with the Governor's office, but I honestly think it was my state rep who made it happen faster. One thing to keep in mind: the escalation just gets someone to look at your claim sooner, it doesn't guarantee approval. Whatever issue put you in adjudication still needs to be resolved. Make sure you've uploaded all requested documents to your ESD account!

mine took 7 weeks back in november and i have a straightford claim!!! it's all about how backed up they are honestly. some weeks they process faster and sometimes slower. just keep filing your weekly claims and eventually it will process. sucks but thats how it is with esd

One additional piece of advice - if you've been in adjudication for more than 6 weeks, you should contact the Office of the Unemployment Insurance Ombuds. They can often help get things moving if your claim has exceeded the standard timeframe. Their contact form is on the ESD website under 'Customer Service'. Also, document every attempt to contact ESD (date, time, who you spoke with if anyone). This can be helpful if you need to escalate your case later.

The exact same thing happened to me!!! My hours got cut to 12 per week back in December and my claim got stuck in adjudication for FIVE WEEKS!! I called ESD like 50 times and either couldn't get through or got hung up on. I finally contacted my state representative's office and they helped push it through. Try that if the governor's office helped last time. So ridiculous we have to involve politicians just to get our legitimate benefits!!!

Just an update - I called ESD this morning using Claimyr and managed to speak with someone who explained what's going on with my husband's claim. They said they're verifying with his employer about the reduction in hours, and once they receive that information, they can complete the adjudication. The agent also expedited our case due to financial hardship. So there's definitely value in being able to actually reach someone!