Submitted by the Washington State Economic Resiliency Team
The Employment Security Department (ESD) launched a redesigned online system on April 19 to accommodate the expansion of unemployment benefits enabled by the Federal CARES Act.
ESD’s site is seeing unprecedented demand for services — up to 500,000 users per hour. Due to the high volume, the online system is experiencing performance issues. Information may load slowly and call wait times are long. The informational areas of the website are not impacted and can address questions people may have.
ESD expects to have about 1,000 people providing some form of customer service by the end of this week. That includes current and new ESD staff, staff from across state government, contract staff and even ESD retirees who are rising to the call of public service yet again.
In addition, the department’s teams are resolving online technical issues and the agency is seeing improvement. The rate of people able to file for benefits is increasing as volumes level out and the agency’s adjustments take effect. Tens of thousands of people have already filed successfully, and thousands continue to do so every hour.
“Tens of thousands of people have been able to apply for expanded benefits over the past few days. This will make a tremendous difference for these families. Yet, we know many people have been unable to access the system and submit their applications. We know how frustrating this is and are adapting in real-time to this massive influx of new claimants as best we can,” ESD Commissioner Suzi LeVine said. “We want to reassure everyone that those who are eligible will get their money and that they will be paid retroactive to their date of eligibility. This is a source of funding that won’t run out.”
As people continue to apply for benefits or file weekly claims, here are a few things to keep in mind:
• The more people prepare before they apply, the smoother their process will be to get their benefits.
• You can apply for benefits at any time. This is not a first-come-first-served program. There is no risk of funds running out.
• Payments are retroactive to a worker’s eligibility date. Once you have successfully applied and backdated your start date, your first payment will be for all weeks for which you are eligible.
• Weekly claims can be filed seven days a week. They can also be filed over the automated phone system by calling 800-318-6022.
• E-services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The busiest times tend to be in the morning. ESD recommends trying during off-hours.
If you are having difficulty filing your application, please visit ESD’s help page, https://esd.wa.gov/unemployment/help.
Due to the continued high demand for unemployment benefits, ESD is offering a webinar for customers to learn more about setting up a Secure Access Washington (SAW) account and submitting a claim for benefits online. Visit https://esd.wa.gov/newsroom/introduction-to-unemployment-insurance-public-webinar.
ESD also has created a tool kit for businesses and workers with the latest information and resources related to filing for unemployment benefits, see https://esdorchardstorage.blob.core.windows.net/esdwa/Default/ESDWAGOV/newsroom/Partner%20Toolkit%20-%204-20%20-%20Final.pptx.
