How Much Do You Get From Washington Unemployment
In Washington, the most you can receive each week in unemployment is $929 per week. The actual amount depends on your earnings during the base year.
Washington doesnt have a set number of weeks for unemployment. Instead, it allows you to claim unemployment benefits until you hit the lesser of:
- 26 times the weekly benefit
- One-third of your gross income during the base year
To get an idea of your maximum employment benefit, add the earnings from your two highest-income quarters. Then, multiply that amount by 0.0385. If the amount is between $295 and $929, it will be your weekly benefit amount. If its higher than $929, your weekly benefit will be $929.
If the number is lower than $295, the state will multiply it by 4 and divide the result by 52. Compare that number to $295 your weekly benefit will be whichever is lower.
How Do I Apply For Washington Unemployment Benefits
Submitting your eligibility claim online is the simplest method to apply for UI compensation. You can also file a claim for unemployment benefits by phoning Washingtons claim center.
Please be aware, however, that extended wait periods are normal when submitting a claim over the phone. Applying online is significantly faster and more efficient, and you are highly urged to do so. Its a good idea to file for unemployment benefits within two weeks of quitting your work.
What Is The Procedure For Filing For Unemployment Benefits
To be eligible for unemployment benefits, you must be out of work due to circumstances beyond your control.
Unemployment benefits can be applied online through ESDs eServices page, which can be found here.
Remember that you should only apply for unemployment benefits at this time if you were already eligible before the CARES Act was passed in December of 2009.
If you werent eligible until that time , the ESD system is not currently configured to accept your application.
Youll need to sign up for the ESDs COVID-19 email updates in order to be notified when the system is updated and you can submit an application. The completion of this update is expected around the middle of April.
Beginning on the date that the unemployment program was established and you became eligible for unemployment benefits, your weekly benefits will be paid out in installments.
The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which broadened the scope of who is eligible for unemployment benefits, began operations on March 29, 2020. This means that if you have to wait until the middle of April to apply, you will not lose any weekly benefits.
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How Do I Appeal A Decision
If you dont receive a favorable response to your original claim, you do have the option to appeal the decision. The easiest way to appeal is online. You can submit a statement of appeal online through your eService account. Select the Decision option, choose the decision youd like to appeal, and select Appeal to begin the process. If youd prefer to mail your statement, you can send a letter outlining your objections to the decision and asking for additional review to the following address:
Claims Center AppealsP.O. Box 19018Olympia, WA 98507-0018
There is no option for submitting an appeal either by email or over the phone. Once your appeal is received, your case will garner additional review, and you may be asked to participate in a hearing so that an administrative law judge can gather additional information about your case.
How To Talk To A Live Person In Washington State Unemployment Customer Service
If you need to speak to a live customer service representative in Washington State Unemployment customer service you need to dial 1-800-318-6022. To speak with a live agent, you need to press 1 , then enter your social security number, press 7 , after press 9 and stay on the line .
Alternatively you can use the following other options available in the customer service phone menu:
- If you would like to open or reopen a claim press 2.
- If you have a question about unemployment insurance press 7.
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If You Had Not Earned Sufficient Wages
If you need more information about your particular situation or filing an unemployment appeal, go to the official Washington State unemployment website: Official Site
What Is The Appealing Process In Washington
If your claim is denied, or your weekly amount is reduced you will be mailed an Administrative Decision within a certain number of business days of it happening.
You may receive a form along with the decision which you should fill out and return if you choose to appeal the decision. It is important to note, that if you choose to appeal the decision you should continue to file your weekly claims for benefits.
That way, if the appeal is reached in your favor, you can be paid out for all the weeks you were eligible for. Administrative decisions become final within 20 days from the date they were mailed. It is pertinent that you respond quickly to ensure your greatest chance of success.
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Am I Eligible For Unemployment Benefits
To qualify for unemployment benefits in the state of Washington, a claimant must satisfy several requirements. First, the applicant must have worked in Washington state for at least a portion of the base year used to calculate benefits. In Washington, you must have accrued a total of at least 680 working hours in your base year to be eligible for unemployment benefits. Unless you recently left the military and are currently located in Washington state, at least some of those hours must have occurred in Washington state.
You must also be out of work through no fault of your own, meaning you cannot have quit your job without good cause. In addition, you must be willing, able, and available to accept suitable work when it is offered.
To be eligible for Washington unemployment insurance benefits, you must be a resident of Washington and all of the following must be true:
- You are unemployed through no fault of your own
- You worked in Washington during the past 12 months
- You earned a minimum amount of wages determined by Washington guidelines
- You are actively seeking work each week you are collecting benefits
Who Can I Complain To About Florida Unemployment
In accordance with 28 CFR 35.107, person wishing to file a complaint or grievance against the Office of the Attorney General for denial of access to services to the public, as defined by 28 CFR 35.130, may do so through the Office of the Inspector General by using the on-line contact form, selecting Inspector
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Tips To Find What You Are Looking For
- Apply online:The fastest way to access benefits is to apply online. We have updated our website to make it easier to use.
- Be prepared:Before you apply, read the instructions so you have the information needed when you are ready to apply, and watch our training videos. This will help you complete your application and speed up processing times. ESDWAGOV – Introduction to Unemployment Insurance – Public Webinar
- Search the website:Call volumes and wait-times can be high. Utilizing our website to find answers to your questions can save you time. The Unemployment page is a great place to start.
- You will get paid: After your application is approved, you will get paid for all the time you qualify for. When you apply, start your claim from the date you lost your job.
Who Is Eligible For Unemployment Benefits In Washington
You may be eligible for Washington unemployment benefits if you:
- Worked at least 680 hours during your base year
- Spent part of the base year working in Washington state
- Left your last job for an approved reason
- Are available for work while you’re collecting unemployment benefits
The “base year” refers to the period of time that Washington uses to assess your income. For most people, this period is the first four calendar-year quarters of the five most recently completed quarters. The quarters are:
- Quarter 1: January to March
- Quarter 2: April to June
- Quarter 3: July to September
- Quarter 4 October to December
If you apply in March of 2022, the five most recently completed quarters would be Quarter 4 of 2020 and Quarters 1-4 of 2021. That means that your base year would be the first four of those quarters: October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021.
What happens if you didn’t work for 680 hours during the base year? The state will look at your alternate base year, which is the four most recent complete quarters.
The Washington ESD also examines your reasons for leaving your last job. In most cases, you’ll qualify for unemployment benefits if you were laid off, your seasonal job ended, or your position at the company was eliminated.
You may be eligible for unemployment if you quit, under certain circumstances. This can happen if you:
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Phone Strategies That Work
We’re committed to helping you. If you must speak to a claims agent, these tips might help.
- Our phones are extremely busy.. Call volumes are currently the highest when we open at 8 a.m. and again from noon to 2:00 pm. If the agent is unable to answer your question you will be offered the opportunity for a call back. Most often these are scheduled the next business day.
- We process claims in the afternoons, evenings and on weekends.
- For current claims center contact information and hours go to:
Washington State Unemployment Support Phone Numbers
- Washington State Unemployment Support Phone Number: 1-800-318-6022. Live Washington State Unemployment customer service is available from 8am to 4pm Monday-Friday, Saturday-Sunday closed.
- Agency headquarters: 1-360-902-9500.
- Tax rate, penalties or benefits claimed by a former employee: 1-888-836-1900.
- General tax information and forms, information for new businesses or information about your current tax rate: 1-855-829-9243.
- Information about the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit: 1-800-669-9271.
- Labor statistics: 1-800-215-1617.
- Employer assistance to avoid layoffs Shared Work Program: 1-800-752-2500.
- Arrange repayment of benefits youre not entitled to receive: 1-866-697-4831.
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Agency: Nearly 87000 Bogus Unemployment Claims Filed In Washington State
Emergency actions taken last May to halt a massive fraud in Washingtons unemployment system prevented at least $200 million in additional losses on top of the more than half-a-billion dollars taken by scammers, officials said Monday.
But officials also acknowledged that the sophisticated scheme, which ultimately siphoned off $576 million in state and federal benefits, started in early March, two months before the Employment Security Department abruptly halted all payments to investigate the fraud.
Mondays disclosures, presented during a wide-ranging news conference by ESD Commissioner Suzi LeVine, marked the first significant new insights into the fraud that the agency has shared in nearly two months.
LeVine also offered additional data on workers waiting for ESD to review their stalled claims, and issued a warning to Washingtonians not to expect quick payment of any new federal money offered by Congress to replace the enhanced $600 weekly benefit that just expired.
Although White House officials and congressional leaders are negotiating an extension of the benefit, it could take four to five months to retool our system to get payments flowing, LeVine said.
Much of the news conference focused on new details about the fraud. For the first time, agency officials shared a precise estimate for the number of bogus claims that criminals filed and the state inadvertently paid benefits on: 86,449. They also gave the more specific dollar amount of $576 million.
How Do I Apply For Unemployment Benefits In Washington
The easiest way to apply for your UI benefits is to submit your eligibility claim online. You also have the option of calling Washingtons claim center to submit your unemployment claim. However, please know that long wait times are common when filing a claim by phone. Its much faster and more efficient to apply online, and you are strongly encouraged to do so. Its a good idea to make sure that you apply for your unemployment compensation within two weeks of losing your job.
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Filing A Weekly Claim
We process hundreds of thousands of weekly claims each week, which can lead to site slowdowns if too many people are trying to log-in at once. Here are four things that will help everyone get the assistance they need:
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How Can I Estimate My Weekly Benefit Amount
You can estimate your own weekly benefit amount to see how much you are potentially eligible to receive. To do this, you need to know which calendar quarters will make up your base year.
Your base year is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before the week in which you apply for benefits. For example, if you applied for unemployment benefits on Jan. 20, 2021, your base year would include wages earned from Oct. 1, 2019, through Sept. 30, 2020.
You could be eligible for an alternate base year claim if you do not have enough hours in that base year for a valid claim .
When you file your claim here:
Your base year is the blue-shaded area.
To estimate how much you might be eligible to receive, add together the gross wages in the two highest quarters during that period, divide by 2, and then multiply by 0.0385 to get your weekly benefit amount.
The total amount of benefits potentially payable on your claim is found by taking the smaller of:
- 26 times your weekly benefit amount or
- 1/3 of the total gross wages in all four quarters of your base year.
How Do I Know How Many Hours I Have Left To Use For My Approved Leave
In your approval letter, youll see the total number of hours you can take for paid family or medical leave. When you submit your weekly claims, please subtract these hours from your total. Remember:
- You dont have to claim all of your average weekly hours on your weekly claims. You can spread them out and take leave intermittently.
- The total number of hours you claim each week cannot exceed the average number of weekly hours you worked over the last year.
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How You Get Paid:
How you get paid:
If you apply online, you can choose to be paid via direct deposit or a prepaid debit card. If you apply on paper, you can only receive a prepaid debit card.
Retroactive payments:
You will get paid for all weeks from your approved leave start date. For example, if it takes two weeks to process your application, youll file for two weeks at once and get those payments retroactively.
Log in to file your weekly claim
What Are Unemployment Benefits
Unemployment benefits provide you with temporary income when you lose your job through no fault of your own. The money partly replaces your lost earnings and helps you pay expenses while looking for new work. The benefits, from taxes your former employer paid, are not based on financial need. While you receive benefits, your job is to get back to work as quickly as possible.
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What Else Do I Need To Know
LeVine also addressed issues that applicants may face when applying for unemployment under the new CARES Act rules.
The website says Im ineligible after I filled out the form, but the checklist says Im eligible.
LeVine says that people should ignore that message, and click on the link to apply for the unemployment assistance. LeVine said this glitch was a trade-off in order to prioritize getting systems in place to get people their money faster.
Thats not the optimal experience and I recognize that, LeVine said.
She said ESD staff would be working through the weekend on upgrading the states systems.
I was self-employed or an independent contractor, so how will my weekly benefit be determined?
Independent contractors and self-employed workers will need to upload their wage data to the Employment Security Department, and ESD staff will review it to verify it and determine how much the applicant is eligible for per week. But the state in the meantime will provide the minimum weekly benefit.
If the person is eligible for more than the minimum, ESD will pay the difference retroactively when wages have been verified.
What is the minimum benefit? When will I get it?
The minimum benefit will be $235 from the state unemployment assistance program, plus $600 from the CARES act. That will come to $835 a week.
If I was denied benefits in the past few weeks, should I try again?
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