Paying Back Unemployment Benefits

Summary:

I quit my job in April of this year following concerns for my personal health and the health of my roommates, with cases of Covid-19 rising in Washington state and my own back problems that had began to make work difficult for me.

My job put me directly in contact with customers, handling packages and performing notaries which had the potential to put me in contact with those with the virus and the fact that my boss only had us clean the store one time, at the end of the day, meant that anyone who had gone to the store that day was at an elevated risk. Which was another consideration as to why I quit my job, which was otherwise considered essential.

Regardless, I had been claiming these benefits until September, approximately four months since my separation with my workplace when the Employment Security Department determined the reason I quit was not a valid reason and that I had to repay my benefits starting from May 10th.

In May, I had money saved in the event my benefits were denied and I was prepared to look for work if the ESD had not sided with me, but since my claim went though, I simply assumed that was the case. As September came, I had very little resources left and already had to turn to outside sources in order to afford food and rent.

Now, in October, I am completely reliant on outside assistance while I look for work that doesn't put me and my roommates at risk. And while my options are limited, I may just end up settling for something else so I don't need to lean so strongly on the shoulders of others, but that doesn't change that I now owe the ESD $300 a month for their own negligence in evaluating my claim in a timely manner.

The total amount I owe is USD $10,032.00, this campaign has an additional $300 to help offset the fee gofundme places upon donations, and while I only need $300 a month in order to make the minimum payment, I think it's reasonable that I hope to pay this off as quickly as possible.

This doesn't account for money I will need for rent and groceries as well, but for the time being I hope to get that through other means, and hopefully, the issue will not be a prolonged one as long as I can make my minimum payments to the ESD.


Common Questions:

Q: Have you filed an appeal?

A: Yes, but it appears to have been ineffective as I've received the bill anyways, though I'll update this if that changes.

Q: Did you state that you had quit due to concerns related to Covid-19?

A: Unfortunately no, my written resignation was very plain and likely part of the reason this happened to me. My life was very stressful at the time and I lacked the forethought, unfortunately.


Documents:

Here are a couple of the documents I've received to help corroborate information I presented earlier in the article to prove that I'm not attempting to collect donations for personal profit. Information such as my address and identifying numbers have been blocked out.