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Washington State Telecenter
23/11/09
Washington State Consolidates Unemployment functions to the Telecenter
The State of Washington has done away with traditional unemployment offices. Officials in Washington decided that by moving all of its unemployment insurance related business online it could save money and make their service more efficient. They also found that the new system makes the process of filing for and receiving benefits cheaper and less of a hassle since claimants do not have to drive to the office.
The majority of state workers who handled unemployment claims from unemployment offices now work out of telecenters. The telecenters are able to handle all of the states unemployment claims online and over the phone. These are the only two ways to file unemployment claims in Washington. To contact a telecenter in order to file a claim, get information about an existing claim, or to speak with a representative, call 1-800-318-6022 (TTY 800-365-8969). You can call between 8am and 5pm Monday through Friday.
Traditionally Mondays are busier than the rest of the week, so if you can wait until Tuesday to call you might experience a shorter wait time.
When you call the telecenter to start a new unemployment claim be sure to have relevant information about your claim and all your personal information ready. You will be asked to answer a few questions by using the buttons on your phone and then you will be transferred to a claims specialist who will verify the information you provided, ask additional questions, and finish the claim. The questions you are asked varies depending on the type of claim you are filing. You can also file your weekly claim using the telecenter. Just call 1-800-318-6022 (TTY 800-365-8969) and follow the instructions provided. You will need to have you social security number and birth date in addition to your claim number to file your weekly claims using the telecenter.
You can also use the telecenter to speak with a representative about other resources such as workforce development. Workforce development offices are located statewide and offer valuable resources to job seekers and employers. You can access current job openings, get help writing a résumé, get information about job fairs, and generally maximize your ability to find suitable employment.
While not original to Washington, the state has come up with a state plan to help companies keep their employees partially working during a temporary decline in business. You get to reduce the hours of your employees, while the state pays your workers. This allows you to retain your skilled workers, reduce your payroll costs and avoid the expense of recruiting, hiring and training new employees when the economy improves.The Shared-Work Program is intended to save your company while keeping your skilled work force ready for better times.
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