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Washington's benefit calculation is SO CONFUSING!!! Even with the online calculators I was off by like $200 when I actually got my determination. And be prepared for DELAYS. It took them almost 6 weeks to process my claim even though I had a straightforward layoff with no issues. The system is broken!!!!!
I'm new to unemployment after being laid off from my tech job last month. This thread has been incredibly helpful! I had no idea about the base year calculation or the hours requirement. I'm wondering - for those who've been through this process, how accurate is the ESD online benefit calculator? I tried using it but I'm getting different estimates depending on how I enter my quarterly earnings. Also, does anyone know if there are any resources or workshops that help walk people through understanding their benefit calculation? The ESD website is pretty confusing for someone who's never dealt with this before.
One more thing - if you're currently employed, they'll want to see recent pay stubs when setting up your payment plan. Have that ready along with your bank statements and monthly budget breakdown.
Thank you for all the practical advice everyone. I feel much more prepared to handle this now. Going to gather my documents and try to get through to them tomorrow.
Good luck! And seriously consider that Claimyr service if you can't get through the regular way. Time is important with these overpayment notices.
I went through something similar a few months ago with a $1,200 overpayment. The most important thing is to act quickly - even if you can't reach them by phone right away, try to document that you're attempting to respond within the 15-day window. I ended up sending an email to their overpayment department explaining my situation and requesting a payment plan, which bought me some time while I kept trying to get through by phone. They were actually pretty reasonable once I finally connected - I got set up with a $40/month plan based on my income. Don't panic, but definitely don't ignore it either. The key is showing good faith effort to resolve it.
That's really smart advice about documenting your attempts to respond within the deadline! I hadn't thought about sending an email as a backup while trying to get through by phone. Do you remember what email address you used for the overpayment department? And $40/month sounds much more manageable than what I was imagining they'd require.
I found their overpayment email through the Washington ESD website - it was something like [email protected] but double-check their site to make sure you have the current address. The $40/month worked for me because I was only working part-time at the time. They base it on your actual income and expenses, so be honest about what you can realistically afford. It's better to start low and increase later than to agree to something you can't maintain. Also keep copies of everything you send them!
Washington ESD customer service told me that 'not ineligible' is the standard wording they use for approved claims. Took me forever to get through to them to ask, but at least I got a clear answer. Might be worth calling if you need more details about your specific claim.
This exact same thing happened to me last year! I got the "not ineligible" letter and spent the whole day thinking I was denied until my neighbor explained it to me. It's honestly cruel how confusing they make something so important when people are already stressed about money. Congrats on your approval though - that's great news! Just make sure to keep filing those weekly claims and doing your job search activities. The first payment should hit your account within a week or two.
Thanks everyone for all the helpful info! This thread has been way more useful than the Washington ESD website for understanding how this all works.
I just went through this same confusion last month! The key thing that helped me was realizing that Washington ESD automatically calculates both the standard base period (first 4 of last 5 completed quarters) and the alternate base period (last 4 completed quarters) to see which one gives you a higher benefit amount. So you don't have to worry too much about figuring it out yourself - they'll use whichever calculation is better for you. The quarters are definitely 3 months each as others have said. My advice is to gather all your pay stubs from the last year and a half just in case they need wage verification, but let their system do the heavy lifting on the calculations.
Mateo Warren
As someone who went through this exact scenario about 6 months ago, I can tell you that the disappearing adjudication notice is usually a good sign! In my case, it meant they had finished reviewing my claim and approved it, but there's always that lag time between their internal decision and when it shows up in your account. One thing I learned is that ESD processes claims in batches, so even though your adjudication might be complete, payments don't always get released immediately. Mine took about 4-5 business days after the notice disappeared to actually see money in my account. The anxiety is totally understandable though - I was checking my account multiple times a day! Just keep filing those weekly claims no matter what, because if there are any issues, stopping your weekly filings can create bigger problems down the road.
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Ryder Greene
•Thanks for sharing your experience! It's really helpful to hear from someone who went through the exact same thing. The batch processing explanation makes a lot of sense - that would explain why there's such a delay between the system making a decision and us actually seeing any updates. I'm definitely going to keep filing my weekly claims religiously no matter what happens. Did you get any kind of notification when your payment was actually processed, or did the money just show up in your account one day?
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Miguel Alvarez
I just went through this exact same thing last month! Filed my claim in mid-January, had the dreaded adjudication notice pop up immediately, then it vanished after my second weekly claim. I was panicking just like you are now. Turns out it was approved and I got my first payment about a week after the notice disappeared. The key thing I learned is that ESD's online system is basically held together with duct tape - their internal processing moves way faster than what we see on our end. A few tips that helped me through the waiting: - Screenshot everything in your account regularly (claim details, weekly claim confirmations, etc.) - Set up direct deposit if you haven't already - it's faster than waiting for a debit card - Keep a detailed log of your job search activities just in case they ask later The waiting is absolutely brutal when you have bills due, but from everything I've seen in this community, disappearing adjudication after filing weekly claims is usually good news. Hang in there!
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Carlos Mendoza
•This is so reassuring to hear! I'm definitely in that panic mode right now with bills coming due next week. Your tip about screenshotting everything is really smart - I wish I had thought of that earlier. I do have direct deposit set up already, so hopefully that will speed things up once payments start processing. It's crazy how much stress this whole system puts people through when we're already dealing with job loss. Thanks for the encouragement - it really helps to know others have been through this exact situation and came out okay on the other side!
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