Washington Employment Benefits Advocates, PLLC

Can you still get unemployment insurance benefits if you’re fired?

2024-01-26T10:25:54Z

Question: Which of these sentences is true?

“The Employment Security Department (ESD) automatically gets detailed information about my termination”
“My former employer decides if I get unemployment benefits”
“You cannot be eligible for unemployment benefits if you got fired”
“You have to convince ESD, not just show them the facts”

Answer: None. None are true. We are here to walk you through the process of getting benefits after you have been fired. This article first talks about at-will employment and what that means. Then we take a look at the test for eligibility, which is how ESD decides if you get benefits.

“At Will” Employment

Washington is an at-will employment state. This means that employment by both parties is “at-will” (unless a union or specific employment contract is involved). At-will means you can quit at any time for any reason or no reason or a made-up reason and your employer cannot force you to stay. Similarly, an employer can fire you at any time. Your employer can fire you for no reason or a made-up reason (although there are some illegal reasons for an employer to fire you). The context around the events, conversations and actions that led up to your termination are typically very important to the decision that ESD makes. ESD needs the facts to make the right decision about if you are eligible for unemployment benefits or not. Sometimes, being terminated for no reason is not a wrongful termination – it’s the nature of at-will employment. But being terminated for no reason typically makes you eligible for unemployment insurance benefits.

The Eligibility Test

The way that ESD decides if someone is eligible after a job separation is they ask “did the claimant lose their employment through no fault of their own, or inefficiency, unsatisfactory conduct, or failure to perform well as the result of inability or incapacity, inadvertence or ordinary negligence in isolated instances, or good faith errors in judgment or discretion.” This is why someone who is fired for performance (fired for not being able to do their job) are often decided to be eligible. ESD also often approves benefits for people who get fired because of accidents that happened or errors they made where they were following the employer’s policy or procedure.

ESD Needs the Facts

The Employment Security Department must ask you about your job separation. They also ask the employer a series of questions. The responses to ESD often include different information than what was said or written at the time of the termination and this can be significant.

ESD Decides Who Gets Benefits- Employers Don’t Decide

Your employer does not get to tell you that you cannot get unemployment. ESD decides who gets benefits. ESD will consider what your employer says when they decide if you get benefits. But they will also consider what you say. ESD makes their own decision. They don’t have to agree with what you say or what your employer says. The decision about if a job separation makes someone eligible for unemployment benefits or not is made based on state laws. State laws provide guidelines for certain categories of events or actions. The Employment Security Department makes eligibility decisions based on 1) state laws, and 2) the information that the employer and claimant provide. The Employment Security Department needs to get information about the facts, events, and actions around the termination. The people who work for ESD don’t need -you to convince them that your employer was wrong. They don’t want to be convinced of anything. They want to get the facts of what happened so they can make the right decision about eligibility. We are here to help you understand whether your job separation makes you eligible for benefits. If you’ve been wrongly denied benefits, we can help. In a 15-minute free consultation, we can assess your case and help you figure out the next step. Click here to schedule a free consultation.

What is Standby?

2024-01-26T10:11:44Z

Possibly by virtue of how accessible and prominent the link is presented on a claimant’s online eServices account, claimants often apply for standby not fully understanding what it is and how it works. Subsequent approvals or denials of standby create more calls and appeals and traffic to the Employment Security Department and associated organizations, like us.

Standby only absolves you of the job search requirements once approved, not when you apply.
Standyby – when approved – only exempts you from job search activities for 2 weeks before the start date of a new job, or 4 weeks before the start date of a previous job, or eight weeks if your employer’s request for additional standby has been approved.
The list of activities that qualify as one of your three weekly job search activities can be found here: https://esd.wa.gov/unemployment/job-search-requirements

Since job search activities are a standard part of being unemployed, having to report three job search activities per week may not be difficult, so standby doesn't necessarily provide a significant advantage. Claimants will occasionally attempt to appeal a legitimate denial of a standby request under various misconceptions. The most common misconception is that their entire claim is in jeopardy or has been disqualified just because their standby request was denied. If only the standby request was denied, then the claimant will simply need to continue to do job search activities as they did previously and they can continue receiving benefits. The only information in the Unemployed Workers Handbook about standby is 2 sentences in the Appendix on page 58. The Employment Security Department webpage that includes standby information is titled Temporary layoffs, standby and partial unemployment and this is a much better guide. There are other ways to be exempt from job search activities: SharedWork, Commissioner Approved Training, Trade Adjustment Program, Self-Employed Assistance Program, and Training Benefits. If you would like to learn more about any of these programs, the Employment Security Department can help and more information on each of these programs will be available in later blog posts. If you have had issues with standby, or have requested an appeal for a denial for standby, we can help you understand the decision and your options. Contact WEBA. Click here to schedule a free consultation.

A Self-Help and Concierge-style Washington Unemployment Collector and Distributor Free on Social Media

2023-11-08T05:58:57Z

Losing your job is one of the most stressful events in life. Navigating unemployment under that level of stress is extremely frustrating and daunting for everyone. The online account system isn't very intuitive. The phone lines to the Employment Security Department have 40 minute average hold times, even after 1/3 of all calls get the high call volume message and disconnect, and the other 1/3 are abandoned by the caller due to excessive hold time. The website and the Unemployed Workers Handbook only provide so much, and often you really need clarification on a multitude of issues and long term access to someone who can get you information on policy and processes.

Reddit.com/UnemploymentWA has a living library of over 5,000 pages of material. The most often requested information is available in compilation posts that are essentially self-help.

Because unemployment is so complex and so much of the information from ESD is generic or lacking, there is a treasure trove of helpful guides and step-by-step explanations of how process or state law affect certain eligibility conditions.

You can view all of the information without a Reddit account, which is free. Reddit is a social media platform with robust rule enforcement. Contacting or interacting with the moderator and content creator requires an account, which is a simple process. You can create public posts, or you can ask the creator questions in private by using chat, direct message, or moderator mail.

The moderator has an average response time significantly less than the lowest hold time for calling ESD. ESD regularly gets around 30,000 phone calls per month. The Reddit community rarely sees less that 40,000 unique visitors per month.

Access to all the information, trouble-ticket style handling on inbound questions, follow ups, long term conversations and relationships, and help with initial eligibility statements and initial appeal preparation cost.... nothing. It’s just one person and they are a savagely dedicated volunteer. They also vet and refer clients to legal services including WEBA. Also for free.

Your question has likely been asked in the last week of posts. And your question probably has its own section in the living library, The Roadmap.

You can scroll the recent posts or look in the Roadmap, or simply ask a question and the moderator and content creator will find it in the library for you.

As a team and individually, WEBA and our partners want to help you understand how best to support your case for eligibility. Please don't hesitate to contact us.

You are worth it.

How do Earnings Deductions Work?

2023-11-03T23:05:56Z

Can I Receive Unemployment Benefits if I’m Earning Some Money, But Less Than I Was Before?

Yes! If you were working full-time, had a qualifying job separation, and now you are earning much less money than you were before, you may still be eligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits. Your weekly benefit check will be reduced based on a formula that takes into account the money you are earning. But you may still end up receiving those benefits if your period of unemployment or underemployment lasts for a long time. At a certain point, you may earn so much money that the earnings deduction is greater than your benefit amount. If you have a week of earnings in which your benefits deduction is greater than your benefit amount, then you would not receive any unemployment benefits for that week. Most claimants look at their benefits only in terms of their weekly claim amount. They assume that when they work and see earnings deductions that the money withheld has been erased or is gone. In reality, the weekly benefit payment is drawn out of your Maximum Payable Benefit, which is listed in the Benefits tab in your online eServices account. Unpaid benefits are simply kept in the Maximum Payable Benefit.

This means that claimants who are working part time are extending the time period in which they can receive benefits.

Similarly, some claimants will accidentally or deliberately not report income. Either this could be because they didn't realize that 'gross income' includes tips, or their pay period doesn't match with the start and stop date of unemployment weeks in Washington State (Sunday-Saturday), or they have a misconception about the weekly claim money disappearing or going away if it’s not claimed each week.

If you have multiple employers or complex earnings, consider filing your weekly claims at a later date when you have the gross income information.

The weekly claim prompt appears on Sunday, but it doesn't disappear until after the fourth week. As long as you are doing acceptable job search activities each week and logging them appropriately, you can file your weekly claims up to four weeks later. All Washington employers are required to report hours worked and gross income earned by employees within 30 days of the end of the fiscal quarter so the Employment Security Department will eventually find out about reported gross income discrepancies and ask you to respond to a fact-finding inquiry. If you find you haven't reported income correctly, you can correct this even before getting a fact-finding inquiry, we can help. If you have an overpayment because the Employment Security Department claims you failed to report gross income correctly, contact WEBA. We can help. Click here to schedule a free consultation.

Understanding Your eServices Account

2023-10-31T06:44:03Z

The Employment Security Department, as with nearly all state agencies, requires multi-factor authentication to log into their website. The ESD even provides a video walk-through of multi-factor authentication set up. This ensures that the person logging into the account is the right person and that no one else can access your claim. Nearly all financial institutions use this method too, as it is the safest and easiest option to protect accounts. After logging into the online eServices account system, you are immediately prompted to set up, or use your chosen Multi-Factor Authentication method. The options are to receive a temporary one-time code via email, via text, or enter a code from the Google Authenticator app or desktop extension. We highly recommend setting up all three, there is no disadvantage. Significant delays with email being blocked as spam, and changes to your phone numbers, can severely limit access to your unemployment benefits claim. If you lose your phone or your phone number changes, you will be able to use another method to access your account. If only one method is set up, like an email address tied to an old employer or internet provider, this can delay access to your account. While you can still file a weekly claim by phone through the general customer service number (800-318-6022), you will have to call the SecureAccess Washington Help Desk during their available hours 855-682-0785 (Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) to unlock your online account.

If you check email regularly, you may want to set your correspondence preferences to electronic

The Employment Security Department allows you to receive your communications as snail mail or email. While some people like to get an official letter, there are some significant disadvantages. Your correspondence preferences are typically selected by you during your initial application for unemployment benefits, when your mailing address is supplied. Subsequent unemployment claims use the same correspondence preferences and mailing address. All determinations, message responses, and requests for information (called Fact-findings) are mailed. Requests for information have a response deadline of ten business days. One problem that can occur is that you move, or are not available to collect mail, and you miss a request for information that causes ineligibility and a subsequent overpayment. The advantage of having your correspondence preferences set to electronic (email) is that you get a generic notification via email from the Employment Security Department when any correspondence occurs on your claim, asking you to log in to view the document. If you see this notice and act promptly, you will have more time to respond or review the document. How do you change your correspondence preferences with the Employment Security Department?

Log into your Employment Security Department online eServices account, https://secure.esd.wa.gov/
Complete your chosen Mult-Factor Authentication Method
Click on the Menu icon in the upper left-hand corner of the web page, ≡
Click on “Settings”
Click on “Update Correspondence Preferences”
Select “Electronic”

You can still access and print notices and letters sent to you by the Employment Security Department by clicking on the tab 'Notices/Letters”, click “View All”, and then click on each notice or letter to download it. If you have been denied benefits because the ESD claims you failed to respond to a notice, contact WEBA. We can help. Click here to schedule a free consultation.

Claimants are now less likely to be permanently disqualified for unemployment insurance benefits if they fail to respond to questions from the Employment Security Department

2023-10-17T20:08:36Z

As of October 7, 2023, the Employment Security Department (ESD) updated one of their rules that governs what happens when a claimant fails to respond to questions.

One problem that can occur when you file a claim for unemployment insurance benefits

At any time, ESD can ask you for information. Even if you have received all the benefits you are eligible for or you have started a new job, ESD may still ask you for more information. In many cases, ESD may simply be asking you to verify your identification documents. This may be due to you updating your address or your bank account, normal and ordinary processes that trigger identity verifications. In this case you get a “fact finding,” which is a set of questions requiring you to submit your identity documents and you have ten business days to respond. If you fail to respond within the ten business days, ESD can ask you to repay all the benefits you have received and they can even disqualify future claims. This process can create major problems for claimants. The letter that requested the information may be hidden in a previous claim. Also, the fact finding that was issued, disappears after the tenth business day if you do not respond. You may not be able to find it in your eServices account. As a result, many people who were eligible to receive benefits when they filed weekly claims were marked as disqualified and they didn’t know what happened.

The Employment Security Department’s solution

Fortunately, there is a policy team within ESD that is examining ways to improve ESD’s processes. They are always looking for new ways to update existing laws in a cost-effective way that improves the overall flow and outcome of claims that should otherwise be eligible while reducing the impact on claimants. When they find a potential solution, they engage in a rulemaking process. State law allows ESD to conduct a cost-benefit analysis and impact study, collect public input, and then potentially create a new rule. This process has been playing out for the law that governs failure to respond since February of 2023. And on October 7, 2023, it went into effect. The new law on responding to requests for information from the Employment Security Department The law is Washington Administrative Code Provision (WAC) 192-140-035: What happens if I do not respond to a request for information? WAC 192-140-035: It previously said "This denial is for an indefinite period of time until you provide the requested information." After the rulemaking process they added, "or You qualify for a new, separate unemployment claim and the information requested under subsection (1) of this section is not relevant for your new claim; or (c) The request for information was made pursuant to a quality control review under 20 C.F.R. § 602.11 and your response is no longer needed for the quality control review." This is a major win for claimants and the entire system. You can read more about this in the following news brief: ESDWAGOV - Failure to respond If you have been denied benefits because the ESD claims you failed to respond to a notice, contact WEBA. We can help. Click here to schedule a free consultation.

What is an Overpayment Decision?

2023-06-14T07:06:45Z

In Washington State, the Employment Security Department (ESD) will say you have an overpayment when they decide they paid you too much money. This usually happens when ESD thought you were eligible for benefits then changed their mind later. They will send you a letter (a “Determination Letter”) in the mail that says they denied benefits and you owe them money. You might also see the letter on the ESD e-Services portal, or you might get a statement in the mail from ESD that says you owe money.

What does an Overpayment Decision look like?

An overpayment will often come to you in the form of a letter from the ESD. This letter will say that ESD has decided to deny your benefits. The letter will give a short reason why ESD says you owe the money. It is normal for the letter not to have enough or detailed information to let you figure out why ESD denied your benefits. The letter will also state the total amount of the overpayment. Finally, it will give you the option to pay the overpayment or appeal the decision. There is a strict deadline to appeal the decision on time.

Should you appeal a decision?

Yes, you should appeal if you don’t agree that you should have to repay the money. At Washington Employment Benefits Advocates (WEBA), we can help you evaluate your probability of a successful appeal. If you don’t appeal the decision then you will have to repay all the money that ESD says you owe. Our attorneys can advise you how to proceed by evaluating the legal merits of your case in accordance with their expertise. Please remember that while overpayments can occur in various areas, including tax refunds, social services, and other government programs, here at WEBA, we are focused on assisting clients with unemployment benefits issues only.

How can we help you?

At WEBA, we provide you personalized assistance to your specific case matter from the first step to the last. We start off by giving you an opportunity to schedule a free consultation with one of our attorneys who have years of expertise in appealing simple and complex overpayment issues. During this initial consultation, you can have a direct and comfortable conversation with an attorney to both explain your unique situation and understand the possible resolutions. Our attorneys will review the details and validity of your overpayment decision to identify any potential defense or mitigating factors to appeal your case. If you decide to hire us to represent you, our team will guide you through every step of the appeal from filing through representation at the hearing in front of the judge. Hiring WEBA will certainly give you the best chance of success at appealing your overpayment.

What to do next?

If you have an overpayment from ESD, we urge you to schedule a free consultation with us by clicking on the “Schedule your Free Consultation” button on this website’s home page. This is the best way to introduce yourself and your case to our attorneys. While we recommend an initial formal consultation, please know that our paralegal is always available to convey any questions or inquiries on your behalf to the attorneys as well as help you navigate through any administrative processes. We look forward to hearing from you!

Working with WEBA

2023-06-06T03:48:08Z

Like many, my unemployment claim was not simple and straightforward, and navigating the unemployment benefits process was overwhelming. There is a backlog of ~40,000 unemployment cases in Washington State at the time this was published. Finding WEBA relieved my stress and gave me the peace of mind I needed during this process. I found WEBA about six months after I initially applied for benefits. Once I had them as part of my team, my stress immediately reduced – not because anything changed about my case or the process, but because I felt for the first time like I had someone on my side, fighting for me, instead of being alone and navigating an opaque and inhuman system. The representation I received was personalized to me and my case. My questions were always answered quickly and there was always the option to hop on a call if the question required it. I knew WEBA was keeping track of my case via the online portal, so I was never stressed about missing an important notice. When my hearing was finally scheduled, WEBA worked with me to prepare and conducted a practice hearing so I would know roughly what to expect. After my hearing, we got on a call to debrief how it went and the next steps. Once the ruling came out, we had another call to debrief. Whenever a question came up, I had no hesitation in reaching out to ask. I am so fortunate to have found WEBA during this process.

This is what my experience looked like:

I separated from my company in the fall of 2021 under ambiguous circumstances that did not clearly fall into any of the categories listed for benefits, however, I felt that I had valid reasons for claiming benefits. I hadn’t been unemployed in about a decade, and the process had changed considerably (it was still mid-pandemic and all online now!). I immediately applied for unemployment benefits, submitting the specific info of my situation into the portal as accurately as I could. And I waited. It took over two months, but I finally received a letter denying my claim for benefits. I was devastated. As with any rejection, I experienced a flood of emotions – anger at the situation, frustration with the system, fear for my financial security and an overwhelming feeling of not knowing what to do next. That moment sucked. It took a while for the intensity of those feelings to mellow, but once they did, I decided to file an appeal with a “worst thing they can do is say no” attitude. The thing was, I had no idea how best to file the appeal – at this point in the process, there wasn’t a checkbox or a form to submit. I am certainly not a lawyer and unemployment law is not simple, so I did what anyone does these days – I started googling. Pretty quickly I came across the Unemployment Law Project. This website is an amazing resource for all types of unemployment information and situations. And, it’s translated into multiple languages for folks who aren’t as comfortable with English. Hoping to get some guidance on the next steps, I called and left a voicemail. That’s the biggest challenge with the Unemployment Law Project – the demand for their services is so high, and they are such a small organization, only a fraction of the people who reach out to them get to interact with a person. I still have never received a call back from them. Regardless, I found a page on their site for how to appeal a benefits denial decision and used that information and guidance to submit my appeal. And then I waited, again. A couple of months later, I am still waiting to hear something from the Employment Security Department when I came across WEBA. I knew Rory, though we had lost touch with the pandemic, and decided to reach out. It was the best decision I could have made. Rory and his partner, Jacob, made the opaque unemployment benefits process easy and clear (well, as clear as it could be). Rory used to be an administrative law judge overseeing unemployment claims like mine, so he understood the nuances of the process. I felt like I was being treated like a person for the first time since before I separated from my former company. Working with WEBA was easy. Here’s what the process looked like for me:

Scheduling the Initial Consultation

Setting up my initial consultation was simple. I just went to the website and clicked “Schedule Your Free Consultation” and the process began. This link took me through a few prompts to assess my situation, where I was in the process and fit with the services WEBA provides. Then I was taken to a scheduling page to schedule a consultation appointment based on what worked for my schedule. Once I submitted the request, I was sent a confirmation with a Zoom link for the specified time.

Prep for Initial Consultation

After I submitted my consultation request, I received an email from WEBA asking for me to provide more information relevant to my case, submit documents for them to review prior to our consultation, and sign a consultation agreement formalizing the relationship. The process was clear and simple, and once signed, I received a copy of the agreement.

Initial Consultation & First Steps

This got off to a rocky start as my Zoom app updated but did not update with the meeting link, so I was sitting on an empty call (thanks, Zoom!). Since it seemed like I didn’t show up for the scheduled call, Rory emailed me after a few minutes to see if the time still worked. Realizing what happened, I restarted Zoom and joined the link provided. I’m thankful for Rory’s follow-up at that moment and that we could keep the time. During the meeting, Rory asked several clarifying questions about my case and shared some initial thinking on how we could approach my appeal given its non-standard characteristics. Using screen sharing, we logged into my Employment Security Department account to look at the notices I had received and to check the hearing status with the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH). Immediately, Rory realized that the OAH portal was not linked to my ESD account, my case was not in the OAH system and we couldn’t track the hearing schedule. Rory gave me detailed instructions on how to add the portal to my profile and check the status of my hearing. As with almost everything in this process, things were not as straightforward as they should have been, and I ended up calling OAH to get fully set up. Once OAH was linked to my ESD profile, I could see the status of my hearing (scheduling pending) and gave Rory the info needed so he could be added as representation to my case. Adding Rory and WEBA as my representation in the OAH portal was key, as it enabled Rory and WEBA to track any developments of my case and I did not have to stress about missing a step. It took almost 11 months from when I first submitted my appeal to receive a hearing date. During that time, Rory would periodically reach out to let me know that he had checked the portal and there had been no movement.

Preparing for the Appeal Hearing

Rory sent me an email that the hearing was scheduled before I received the notice in the mail from OAH. He put together a script for my testimony based on the details of my case and the likely questions the judge would ask me. The script was very thorough and Rory was quick to answer my questions. I reviewed the script to make sure it accurately captured the details of my case and used language I was comfortable with. Next, we scheduled time to do a mock hearing where Rory played the role of the administrative law judge and asked me questions. These questions were part of the script, so I was prepared to answer them. It was really good to practice saying the answers out loud and getting a sense of the tone that the hearing would likely take. Once we completed the mock hearing, Rory and I discussed the logistics for the hearing day and other potential unknowns.

Hearing Day

The day of my hearing didn’t go as planned as my former employer’s representation asked for a continuance. That initial hearing lasted about 10 minutes. Rory called me immediately after to discuss what had happened and next steps, and to express frustration with the situation. A new hearing date was scheduled for about a month later. Rory and I met again before that hearing to check in and go over the logistics. During the hearing, the judge asked me a series of questions that were very similar to the questions in my script, and I felt confident in my answers. Rory had the opportunity to ask questions where he felt the judge had missed some context. The hearing lasted about an hour. After that hearing, Rory called so we could debrief what had happened and the timeline for the next steps. About a week later, the judge’s ruling came in. Again, Rory emailed me the ruling before I received it in the mail and asked if I wanted to discuss it. In general, working with Rory and WEBA made me feel supported and heard in a process that otherwise feels bureaucratic and inhuman. The personalized attention to my case and the one-on-one time given to me made this process much less stressful than it would have been otherwise. I cannot recommend WEBA more.

How to Write An Appeal Letter sample unemployment

2023-01-20T09:34:14Z

When you receive a decision from the Washington Employment Security Department (ESD) you can appeal that decision. You won’t want to appeal every decision made by ESD. Sometimes ESD will make the decision that you want. If they find that you are eligible for benefits then you don’t want to appeal that. But sometimes ESD will make a decision that is not good for you. Examples of decisions that you want to appeal can include:

Denying you benefits
Reducing your benefits
Deciding that you have an overpayment of benefits
Denying your request to waive repayment of overpaid benefits

These decisions are bad for you because they cost you money. So you’ll want to appeal them in order to get the decisions changed. You can win your appeal if you have a good reason for it. And writing a good appeal letter is the best way to show the judge that you have a good reason for winning your appeal.

When to Appeal a Decision by ESD

When you appeal a decision by ESD you should try to send the appeal in on time. You have thirty days to appeal a decision by ESD. That thirty days is calculated from the date of the decision, not the date when you learned about the decision. So if you get a bad decision from ESD and you want to appeal it, then you should write the appeal and send it to ESD as soon as you can. If you file your appeal more than thirty days after the decision you are appealing then your appeal might get dismissed for being late. Your appeal being dismissed means that you lose, and the original decision by ESD won’t be changed. But that doesn’t mean that there is no point to filing an appeal if it’s late. If you have a good reason for being late, then the judge might not dismiss your appeal. But you have to tell the judge the reason you were late. You have to write the reason you were late in your appeal letter.

How to Appeal a Decision by ESD

There are a few ways to appeal ESD decisions. No matter which one you decide to use, you still have to write an appeal letter. The sample appeal letter below will help you write your appeal.

Appeal a Decision by ESD Online

The easiest way to appeal a decision by ESD is to appeal online. To appeal an ESD decision online you log in to the ESD eServices portal. If you haven’t logged into the ESD eServices portal before you will need to create an account. Once you have logged into the ESD eServices portal you select the claim with the decision that you want to appeal. Then you choose the “Appeal” option and fill out the necessary information.

Appeal a Decision by ESD by Fax

You can also appeal an ESD decision by fax. The fax number for ESD is 800-301-1795. Sending your appeal by fax has some advantages over sending it in the mail. The advantage is that fax machines produce what is called a “return sheet.” The fax return sheet says if the fax went through or not. So if you successfully send your fax to ESD then you will get a fax return sheet that confirms that ESD received the appeal you sent by fax. If you decide to send your appeal by fax then you should read and understand the fax return sheet. If the fax return sheet shows that the fax went through successfully then you should keep a copy of it for your records. There might be a question later about whether the appeal was sent on time and if ESD received it, and the fax return sheet is proof that it was sent on time and that ESD received it. If the fax return sheet doesn’t show that the fax was received then you haven’t sent your appeal successfully and you need to fix that.

Appeal a Decision by ESD by Mail

You can appeal an ESD decision by mail. The address to send your appeal to is:

Claims Center Appeals
P.O. Box 19018
Olympia, WA 98507-0018

Sending your ESD decision by mail is easy and doesn’t cost very much. It is an option you can use if you can’t appeal online and you don’t have access to a fax machine. There are some risks to appealing by mail. The mail can take a while to get there. So ESD might not receive your appeal on time. And the mail can get lost. And if you just put a stamp on it and sent it without tracking then you don’t have proof that ESD received it. If you send your appeal letter in the mail you should pay for mail tracking so that you can show that ESD received your appeal. You should also keep a copy of the appeal letter and a picture of the addressed envelope for your records.

Sample Appeal Letter

Here is a sample appeal letter that you can use to appeal a decision by ESD about your unemployment benefits. Claimant SSN/ID#: 123-12-1234 First and Last Name: John Doe Current Mailing Address: 101 1st Ave Apt 1 Seattle, WA 98101 Phone: 206-206-2062 Email Address: John.Doe@email.com Letter ID # or Case #: L123456789 Employer Name: WorkCo Inc. Date: May 10, 2022 I disagree with the determination in the letter # L123456789. ESD has not made the correct decision. I quit my job but because I had good cause to quit my job I am eligible for unemployment benefits. The good cause to quit my job was because I received an offer of employment from another company. I received an offer for full time employment from JobsCo LLC. I accepted the offer of employment from JobsCo LLC and gave my notice to WorkCo Inc. that I was quitting as of Feb 1, 2022. My last day at WorkCo was Feb 1, 2022. However, JobsCo LLC then notified me that they were shutting down all operations in Washington. I asked if there was another position available to move me to at Jobsco but there was not. I also asked WorkCo for my job back but they would not rehire me. So I applied for benefits. I quit my prior position for good cause so I should be eligible for unemployment benefits. ESD’s decision to disqualify me for benefits is wrong and should be changed.