Once you get the approval, notice your payments are automatically sent out. Natalie, I don’t think you know what you’re talking about. I know a lot about the unemployment system, and when I was in adjudication, and I got the approval letter, my payments were issued immediately.

This is exactly why ESD needs better transparency in their system. You shouldn't have to pay a third-party service or wait hours on hold just to find out there's a "quarterly review flag" blocking your payments. It's ridiculous that these blocks aren't visible to claimants in the portal. At minimum, they should show a status like "Payment under review" instead of just leaving everyone hanging with "pending" and no explanation. Glad you finally got it resolved, but the fact that you had to go through all that stress and expense just to get money you were already approved for is unacceptable. Hopefully your experience helps others who are stuck in the same situation realize they need to be persistent about actually reaching someone at ESD rather than just waiting and hoping the payments will magically appear.

Just wanted to add that if you're having trouble with the online application or need to check your claim status, Washington ESD also has a mobile app that can be easier to use than the website sometimes. Also, make sure you keep copies of everything you submit - I learned that lesson when they asked me to resubmit documents I thought they already had. Good luck with your claim!

One more thing to keep in mind - if you receive any severance pay, that might affect when your benefits start. Washington ESD considers severance as wages, so depending on how it's structured, you might have a delay before benefits kick in. I had a friend who got 4 weeks severance and couldn't collect unemployment until after that period ended. Just something to check on if you're getting any kind of separation package from your tech company.

I'm going through this exact same nightmare right now! My claim has been showing "pending issue halt" for about 12 days with absolutely zero explanation from Washington ESD. Like everyone else here, I was getting regular payments for over 6 weeks and then this status just appeared overnight with no warning whatsoever. I've checked every single section of my account obsessively looking for any kind of message, document request, or clue about what triggered this, but there's literally nothing there. The complete lack of communication is beyond frustrating when you're depending on these payments to survive. I've tried calling probably 20 times but can never get through - their phone system is completely broken. After reading all these responses, I'm definitely going to try Claimyr since it seems like the only way to actually talk to someone who can explain what's happening. It's absolutely insane that we have to pay a third-party service just to get basic information about our own unemployment claims, but Washington ESD has made it impossible to reach them any other way. Really hoping we all get this resolved soon - the stress and uncertainty is unbearable!

I'm dealing with the exact same situation right now and it's incredibly frustrating! My claim has been showing "pending issue halt" for about a week now, and like everyone else here, I was getting regular payments for months before this randomly appeared. I've checked every section of my Washington ESD account multiple times looking for any explanation or required documents, but there's absolutely nothing telling me what the issue is or what I need to do to fix it. I've tried calling numerous times but can never get through - the phone system just puts you on endless hold or disconnects you. Reading through all these responses, it sounds like Claimyr might be worth trying since so many people have had success actually getting connected to someone who can provide answers. It's really unfortunate that we have to resort to a paid service just to get basic information about our own claims, but Washington ESD has made their system completely inaccessible. The uncertainty and stress of not knowing when this will be resolved is honestly the worst part. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences - at least we know we're not alone in dealing with this broken system!

I've been having the exact same problem since Tuesday! Really glad to see I'm not the only one struggling with this. The SecureAccess login has been giving me that same "Unable to process your request" error every time I try to file my weekly PFML claim. I was getting really worried about missing the deadline, but seeing all the helpful info in this thread about the maintenance window and deadline extension is such a relief. Thanks to everyone who shared the Twitter updates and phone numbers - I never would have known about any of this otherwise. ESD really needs to do better about communicating these outages on their main website instead of just buried Twitter posts. I'm going to try the Firefox browser suggestion and going directly to paidleave.wa.gov once the system is back up tomorrow evening. Hopefully we can all get our claims filed without any more issues!

I've been having the exact same login issues since Tuesday! Keep getting that "Unable to process your request" error when trying to access my PFML weekly claim. This thread has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea about the maintenance window or that the filing deadline would be extended. ESD's communication is terrible; I never would have known about any of this without everyone sharing the Twitter updates here. I'm going to try the Firefox browser suggestion and the early morning login tip once the system is back up tomorrow evening. It's so frustrating that we have to play detective just to figure out when their systems are down! Thanks to everyone for sharing phone numbers and workarounds - this community is more helpful than ESD's actual support sometimes.

I'm new to this community and just wanted to say how incredibly helpful this entire thread has been! I'm currently going through my first unemployment claim experience and was really confused about what all the different statuses meant. Reading through everyone's experiences here - especially the detailed timelines and practical tips - has been such a relief. It's amazing to see how supportive this community is and how willing people are to share their knowledge to help others navigate this stressful process. I'm bookmarking this thread as a reference guide and hoping my claim goes as smoothly as many of the success stories shared here. Thank you to everyone who took the time to explain the process and offer encouragement - it really makes a difference when you're feeling lost in the system!

I just wanted to add my experience as someone who went through this recently! My claim was in adjudication for about 2.5 weeks, then switched to pending for exactly 4 days before going to paid status. The waiting was absolutely nerve-wracking, but the transition from adjudication to pending really is a positive sign like everyone has said. One thing that helped me stay sane during the process was keeping a simple calendar where I marked down my claim status each day - it helped me see that things were actually progressing even when it felt like nothing was happening. Also, make sure you're still doing your job search activities (3 per week) and filing your weekly claims during this time. The retroactive payment was such a relief when it finally came through - covered all the weeks I had been waiting. Hang in there, it sounds like you're very close to getting paid!