With the reinstatement of the additional, weekly unemployment benefit of $300, the Employment Security Department (ESD) has notified us that new fraudulent claims are being reported around the state. The ESD has asked us to share the following information regarding fraudulent unemployment claim activity.
If you have been the victim of recent unemployment fraud:
If you have been the victim of new unemployment fraud, you will need to file a fraud report with the ESD. In addition, please also notify Human Resources by emailing Cassie Lewis at calewis@osd.wednet.edu.
To help prevent any potential fraud, you may create a SAW account with the State of Washington. View instructions for creating a SAW account. If you have been the victim of fraud in another state, you will need to contact that specific state. You may also want to create a SAW account in order to prevent a fraudulent Washington claim.
If you were a victim of unemployment fraud in 2020:
If you were a victim of unemployment fraud with the ESD in 2020 and receive a tax form 1099 from the ESD, you should contact the ESD directly. Because the ESD issued the 1099 form, they must be the one to correct the error. The ESD can be reached by email (ui1099@esd.wa.gov) or phone (866-697-4831). Email contact is preferred.
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