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Help with unemployment benefits, appeals, and hearings

Northwest Justice Project

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How to find help if you have problems getting or keeping unemployment benefits

If you lost your job because you were let go or you had a good reason to quit, and your application for unemployment benefits was denied, you may fight that denial by appealing. 

If you received unemployment benefits, your former employer may also appeal. 

If you received unemployment benefits, but later told by the Employment Security Department that they overpaid you and you must pay them back, you have the right to appeal that decision as well. 

The first step of an appeal is an administrative hearing. If you need to keep appealing decisions against you, you could wind up in Superior Court or the state Court of Appeals. 

If you need help with your unemployment case, contact the Unemployment Law Project (ULP). They take cases from anywhere in Washington State.

If the Unemployment Law Project can’t take your case, you can also try the Washington Employment Lawyers Association’s directory.  

ULP’s website answers frequently asked questions and has information about: 

Overpayments

Appealing a decision

Representation at a hearing

What to do after you are fired, discharged, or laid off

What to do if you are thinking about quitting or already quit your job.

And other self-help resources.

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