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Getting the unemployment benefits you’ve earned isn’t always as easy as it should be because the law is complicated.

The lawyers at Washington Employment Benefits advocates are here to help.

We’re the only private practice law firm focused exclusively on representing folks trying to get unemployment insurance benefits. When I was a judge, I saw many people call into their hearing without representation. Jacob and I started this firm to help folks understand the process. We’re not working on million dollar jury verdicts. We’re focused on people who need benefits to get them through to their next job.

And I have over ten years of experience working with people in court to help people tell their story the way the judge needs to hear it. I helped a fraud victim get rid of a $44,000 overpayment that the Employment Security Department had been claiming for three years. I helped an executive get rid of a $50,000 overpayment, and I helped many people get full payments for the benefits they were improperly denied. I’ve represented tenants facing eviction, homeowners facing foreclosure and survivors of domestic violence.

We’ve seen people beaten down by bureaucracy. In one case, I represented a young tech worker. Initially, she went to a hearing by herself. After that hearing, the Employment Security Department found that she had committed fraud. I represented her on appeal. We overcame the fraud finding and she was able to get the benefits she was entitled to.

We can help you with overpayments, denials and appeals. Start the process by booking a consultation. You’ll talk with a real person about your case. Once you hire us, we’ll help you prepare. We’ll explain the law, practice your testimony and represent you at the hearing.

These benefits are not a free government handout. This is insurance. When I was laid off, I got benefits because I’d paid into the system. We know that people applying for benefits are not made of money. We offer free consultations and flat fee representation agreements.

When someone comes to us, they know what they’re going to be paying up front. You can book a free 15 minute consultation where we’ll learn about your case. Talk you through the options and provide honest feedback.

If you get fired, can you still get unemployment benefits if your employer says you committed misconduct?

Thank you. Come on in. Okay. Could you get the door? Sure. Thank you. Have a seat. I know you’re probably wondering why I called you here today. No.

I’m here to discuss the no call, no shows that have been happening that I’ve that I’ve been able to account for.

Do you recall last week that you were out of the office and there was no record of your note? I called it in.

We don’t have it in the system.

So it’s the responsibility to make sure that we know where you are.

Okay, so I called it in. What would you like me to do now? I got to ask you to park at your desk right now. Yep. Okay. That’s how I feel.

Yes. In Washington State, you can get benefits if you got fired. It’s not always clear what happens if your employer says you did something wrong or that you broke a rule. The employment security Department might deny your benefits, but if you appeal, then your employer has to prove it to the judge. We can help you win your hearing.

When you make an appointment with us, you get to talk to a person. We’ll talk to you about your case. We will identify the facts and explain the law in a way that you can understand.

Being right isn’t enough. You have to explain it to the judge in their language. If you get fired, you have to tell the judge the facts that are legally significant. If you don’t know the law, you might not be able to get your point across.

Schedule a consultation with us. We’ll give you an honest assessment of your case. We’ll help you get the judge the information they need to make a decision in your favor.

All right. I finally got a letter from the unemployment office. See what it says?

This is. I was denied.

They say that I quit my job because I was unhappy. I was unhappy. I was being harassed.

Have you heard that if you quit your job, you’re not eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. That’s not always true. And it might not be clear what exactly makes you eligible.

Under the law, there’s 12 reasons that you can quit your job and still be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits if your employer cuts your hours or your pay by 25% or more. If there are unsafe conditions at your work site or if you become disabled, you may still be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits.

There’s a number of situations that allow you to quit where you’re still eligible for unemployment insurance benefits, but each situation requires that you take specific steps to try to keep your job. There’s certain things that you’re going to need to prove to the employment Security Department. There’s other situations that might seem like they would constitute good cause, but if they’re not covered by the law, then they don’t count as a good cause to quit.

And you won’t get your benefits.

If you file your claim for benefits and get denied. You may need to appeal your decision and go before an administrative law judge. I was a judge and I know what judges are looking for in these cases.

Schedule an appointment with us and we’ll give you a free, honest assessment of your case. If you hire us, we’ll help you tell your story to the judge and help the judge understand exactly all the steps that you took to try to keep your job before you quit.

Hey, come on in. Hi. How are you?

I’m good, and I am going to get my resignation today, my two weeks notice.

Okay. This is my resignation letter. Well, thank you for providing us with notice.

we’re going to need you to log out of the system.

You want me to log out right now? Yes. We can’t have you accessing our systems anymore.

You don’t want me to finish out my day or I’ll take care of it.

But if you want to bring by your laptop and your badge, we can get a few forms filled out for you.

Okay. And then I’ll leave.

Yes. Today? Right now? Yes.

In this situation, did the employee quit or were they fired? It’s not always a simple question.

In this case, the employee gave notice. But then the boss told them not to come back.

So does that count as quitting or being fired when you file your claim with the employment Security Department?

They’ll ask you why you’re no longer working for your most recent employer. They’ll give you three options in a dropdown menu. Either quit. Fired or laid off. But sometimes it’s not obvious. If you answer that question incorrectly. The Employment Security Department might improperly deny you benefits or they might even claim that you’ve committed fraud.

Let’s look at this situation again.

I am going to get my resignation today, my two weeks notice.

Okay, now, that sounds like a quit.

You don’t want me to finish out my day or I’ll take care of it.

Oh, but if you want to bring by your laptop and your badge, we can get a few forms filled out for you.

Okay. And then I’ll leave.

Yes. Today? Right now? Yes.

But that might change everything. When the boss says don’t come back. That might mean that the employee was actually fired.

Each person’s situation is a little different. It can be difficult to answer questions from a dropdown menu. Dropdown menus don’t give you the opportunity to explain or give context.

The Employment Security Department can make things difficult, but we make it easy.

Schedule a free consultation with us and we’ll give you an honest assessment of your case. We’ll help you tell your story and answer the questions in the way the Employment Security Department needs to see them.

I wanted you to take a look at this performance improvement plan.

Okay. And I had my review just couple of weeks ago. We advised it. Okay, So take a look. Okay? Okay. Okay. There’s a lot.

Oh, and there’s a severance plan on the second page.

So we’ve got, you know, 24 to 48 hours. Take a look at the plan, see what you think, and then make a decision on whether or not you want to continue with the company according to our plans or maybe taking the severance package.

Oh, okay. And that’s. Those are my two options. The No. Hmm.

Did you get fired with a fake performance improvement plan? Some companies fire people by pretending they’re not hitting performance goals that are higher than they were ever actually required to meet before. They tell you that if you leave now, you get a severance payment, and if you stay, it’s not going to work out for you.

This is common in the tech industry and whether they call it a performance plan, a pivot plan, an action plan, if it’s not a real chance to keep your job, it means you were fired. For example, your boss might assign you another 40 hour project to do in the next month when you’re already working 60 hour weeks. Or they’ll say, If you don’t meet a list of subjective metrics that you’ll be fired and you’ve been getting bad feedback from them all year.

So you leave and you take the payment, You can see what’s going on here, why they’re doing it. But the Employment Security Department looks at this and they might say that you quit and they won’t pay you unemployment benefits. But if it wasn’t an honest improvement plan, if it wasn’t really a chance to keep your job, that means you were fired when you make an appointment with us, you get to talk to a person.

We’ll talk to you about your case. We will identify the facts and explain the law in a way that you can understand.

Unemployment

50,000 overpayment.

Does the Employment Security Department say that you owe them money from the COVID pandemic?

The Employment Security Department made a lot of mistakes during the pandemic.

We help people fix those mistakes. I worked with a client who lost his job because of COVID. He applied for benefits. The Employment Security Department waited six months to pay him. Six months later, they said he had to pay it back. Then they changed their minds and switched him to a different program. Six months after that, they changed their minds again and said he had to pay back over $20,000.

We took his case to hearing and got rid of the whole overpayment. There’s at least four different ways to win these cases. In fact, these pandemic problems are so common that they have created a special program to take another look at them. It’s called the Pandemic Era Overpayment Waiver

will help you figure out what applies to your case. Schedule a consultation with us. We’ll give you an honest assessment and we’ll tell you if there’s any way to get rid of the overpayment by showing you were eligible. All along or that they waited too long to try to get the money back.