I work with unemployment claims regularly, and I can confirm you do NOT serve another waiting week when reopening an existing claim during the same benefit year. The one-waiting-week-per-benefit-year rule is clearly stated in RCW 50.20.010(1)(c). However, be aware that if you earned enough during your temporary job to establish a new claim with a higher weekly benefit amount, ESD might suggest you file a new claim instead of reopening the old one. In that case, you would serve a new waiting week, but it might be worth it for the higher benefit amount. This is uncommon though, and would require significant earnings during your temporary work period.

Just want to add my experience - reopened my claim in August after a 10-week temp position and definitely did NOT have to serve another waiting week. Got paid for my first week back on unemployment without any issues. The key thing is making sure you're still within your original benefit year (which sounds like you are since you filed in February). Also double-check that you're filing your weekly claims correctly - I almost missed the deadline my first week back because I forgot the routine! Good luck with your job search.

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice! I'll definitely mark "no" for that day on my claim and explain it's just a brief day trip. Better to be honest than risk issues later. I'll still be actively job searching that day and available by phone/email, so hopefully they'll just reduce by 1/7 instead of the whole week. Really appreciate all the input!

Just wanted to add my experience - I had a similar day trip to Victoria last fall and reported it exactly like Maya and Jacob suggested. ESD reduced my weekly benefit by 1/7th (about $95 in my case) but I didn't get any penalties or issues. The key is being upfront about it when you file. Also, keep any documentation like receipts or photos from your trip in case they ask questions later. The online claim system walks you through it pretty clearly once you select "no" for that day. Have fun with your friend!

UPDATE: I finally got through to ESD after numerous attempts. The agent confirmed what many of you said - they're using a tiered system based on unemployment rates. She also checked my wage records and everything was calculated correctly. Frustrating, but at least I understand now. For anyone else facing this issue, she recommended making the most of WorkSource services to speed up job search. Apparently there are some specialized manufacturing workshops coming up in March that might be helpful for people in my industry. Thanks everyone for your help!

This is really helpful information, thanks everyone! I'm in a similar boat - got 21 weeks when I was expecting 26. I had no idea they changed to this tiered system based on unemployment rates. It's frustrating that ESD doesn't clearly explain this upfront in their communications. The monetary determination letter just shows the number of weeks without any context about WHY it's that number. Seems like they could save everyone a lot of confusion (and phone calls) by including a simple explanation of how the calculation works. Going to check out those WorkSource manufacturing workshops Miguel mentioned - sounds like we might be in similar industries.

Update for everyone having this issue: ESD just announced on their Twitter that they're experiencing "technical difficulties" with the login system affecting "some users" (translation: it's completely broken). They claim they're working on it. No ETA for a fix though. Might be worth waiting a day to see if it resolves before spending hours on the phone.

I'm dealing with this same login loop issue right now! Been trying to file my weekly claim for the past two days with no luck. It's so frustrating when you can't even get an error message to tell you what's wrong. Has anyone tried calling the customer service line early in the morning? I've heard they have fewer callers right when they open at 8 AM, but I wanted to check if that's actually true before setting my alarm that early. Also wondering if there's a specific day of the week that's better for getting through - seems like Mondays would be the worst since everyone's trying to file their weekly claims. Really hoping they fix this technical issue soon because I can't afford to miss filing this week!

I used Claimyr last month when I had a similar issue and honestly it was a game changer. Instead of spending my entire day trying to get through to Washington ESD, I just let them handle the calling and got connected to an actual person who could explain what the problem was. Turned out to be a simple reporting error that took 5 minutes to fix once I could talk to someone.

I went through this exact situation about 6 months ago and it turned out Washington ESD flagged my claim because I had reported working 8 hours in one week but then zero hours the next week, and their system thought it looked suspicious. The "issue on file" stayed there for almost 2 weeks while they manually reviewed my case. What really helped me was calling first thing Monday morning at exactly 8am - that's when I had the best luck getting through to someone who could actually tell me what they needed. Don't stress too much, in most cases it's something really minor that just needs clarification.