Washington unemployment phone number to talk to a person

Q: Can you claim unemployment if you quit?

If you dont have another job to go to, you can claim benefits straight away. You can claim benefits as soon as you know the date youre stopping work. Youll need to show you had a good reason for resigning, or you might get less money for around 3 months.

April 14, 2020 7:30 PM

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What is the best time to call Washington unemployment?
Can you claim unemployment if you quit?
What time does Washington unemployment open?
What is ESD WA gov?

Posted: April 14, 2020 7:30 PM

SPOKANE, Wash. — Thousands of people in Spokane County have filed for unemployment benefits during the pandemic. According to some, however, filing is only half the battle. Some told 4 News Now, they’re fighting phone lines to speak to someone to get any problems resolved.

Over at Washington’s employment security department, phones lines are packed with people. Some advice from a couple people who finally got through, be patient.

1-800-318-6022 is Washington ESD’s phone number—the one many are calling right now.

Chances are, if you call the ESD number, you’ll hear a message that tells you they are experiencing a high call volume and it asks you to try again later. At the end of the message, it hangs up the call; the twelve-second audio recording so many Washingtonians have listened to over and over again.

You can see where some frustration can arise.

“I called over 100 times before I got to a point where I was on hold, at which point, I was on hold for almost six consecutive hours,” said Jessica Marcella, who spent all Monday trying to reach someone at the ESD office.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the amount of people without a job right now, the phone line is extremely busy.

“So I started calling around the 10 o’clock hour and was not completely satisfied until around 5:15 in the evening,” Marcella said.

Marcella is a medical assistant without work right now. She said she was calling because there was a discrepancy in her file showing she was getting retirement benefits.

“I was very confused. I don’t receive retirement pay, I’m 31,” Marcella said.

She has, like many others, kids to support. She needed to get the problem fixed fast. But it took her a nearly a full day on the phone.

“I even texted my mom and said – I am so scared that by the time 4 o’clock rolls by, I’m not going to get hung up on and I’m not going to talk to anybody,” Marcella said.

ESD was able to fix the issue once she got through to someone. She’s not the only one with a daunting phone experience.

“I know I called from my phone around 370 [times]. Think I called from my mom’s phone about 180 [times],” said Sarah Elmore, who was calling for her mother, who was having issues getting payments.

After 576 phone calls, the problem was fixed.

“Just be persistent, don’t give up. Have some snacks and a phone charger. Go for it,” Marcella said.

Some advice from Elmore and Marcella, give yourself time and know the hours of operation. If you try calling before they close, you might not get anyone and have to try again the next business day.

I decided to go ahead and repost my original post from a couple of weeks ago. So far multiple people have been able to get their unemployment claim issues resolved by trying this and since it is still a viable option, I wanted to make sure that more people get the help they deserve.

Here is how to speak to a real person for your Unemployment claim woes

Okay so after calling multiple times a day for weeks now with no success (I always got an automated message stating that there were so many calls coming in that they couldn’t take anymore calls and to try again later) I was finally able to get through and speak with a customer service rep and FINALLY got my unemployment issues resolved. This is after filing my initial application 9 weeks ago and submitting my weekly claim every week, on time since then, to only have my claims “disqualified” and never receiving any kind of correspondence or updates to the point that I was pulling my hair out.

1.) Call the claims hotline at (800)318-6022 After the dude says press 1 for English, press 1

2.) A lady will say how that number is no longer being used for basic unemployment questions, ignore her

3.) Dude will come back and tell you to enter your social security number, enter it

4.) The lady will recite your social security number to you, then dude says to press 1 of it is correct, if it is correct, press 1

5.) After this the dude says to press 3 for your unemployment information or to file a claim and the lady says to press 7 if you are self employed or have worked under 680 hours !!!!!!PRESS 7!!!!!!

6.) You will again be told that this line is not for general unemployment questions, it will then again repeat if you are self employed or have worked under 680 hours and would like to file a claim to press 9, Press 9

You will then be put on hold until a customer service rep can assist you.

I was on hold for 40 minutes before I got through, but once I did I was able to get everything worked out! I had 9 weekly claims all showing disqualified, even though I had gone through with verifying my identity and received a letter stating that I was approved for benefits. Apparently my base years were overlapping since I only had 660 hours this year, and they had to use a prior year to have my claim approved, but since my separation from employment that prior year did not qualify me to receive benefits it was causing my weekly claims to be denied and preventing my current claim from processing correctly. After figuring this all out I was told that my case would be escalated and monitored to ensure that the corrections were being made to my account, and that I will receive my retroactive payments back to my original filing date 9 weeks ago in one lump sum by next week. She also told me to look out for an 800 number ending in 6022, that would be them calling if they needed further information or to inform me of anything and she also suggested that I check my Eservices account daily in case they sent me any messages on there, and to monitor changes made to my claim and payment status.

Another suggestion is to go to this webpage https://app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/ and email your district representative(s) regarding your unemployment issues, they can help light a fire under the asses of whoever is on your case and help to get the ball rolling.

What is the best time to call Washington unemployment?

Call throughout the day The phones are extremely busy, so keep trying throughout the day if you can't get through. Call volumes are currently the highest when we open at 8 a.m. If the agent is unable to answer your question immediately, they will schedule a call back for the following day.

Can you claim unemployment if you quit?

If you don't have another job to go to, you can claim benefits straight away. You can claim benefits as soon as you know the date you're stopping work. You'll need to show you had a good reason for resigning, or you might get less money for around 3 months.

What time does Washington unemployment open?

16, our unemployment claims center will take calls from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. The fastest and easiest way to submit weekly claims is using eServices, but if you prefer, you can still submit weekly claims using our automated phone system from 12:01 a.m., Sunday to 4 p.m., Friday.

What is ESD WA gov?

The Employment Security Department connects Washington state's workers and employers – supporting transitions to new jobs and empowering careers. Washington state esd.wa.gov Joined July 2014.