DEO suddenly only allowing one week to claim at a time - change in CONNECT system?

This happened to me last month! DEO made a change to CONNECT where they're staggering payment processing. For some claimants (seems random), they're only allowing one week to be claimed at a time now. I called and after 3 hours on hold, an agent confirmed this is intentional - something about "system load balancing" and "fraud prevention" but it sounded like an excuse for their outdated system to me. You'll still get both payments, just a week apart now.

yep its happening to everyone now. my neighbor got the same thing and hes been on unemployment since january. stupid deo always changing things without telling nobody!!

This is actually part of the new DEO processing protocol they started implementing in June 2025. It's being rolled out in phases across different claimant groups. The change is designed to spread out payment processing and reduce the number of claims being processed simultaneously. A few important things to know: 1) This doesn't affect your eligibility or total benefit amount 2) You'll still receive payments for all eligible weeks 3) After claiming one week, you'll need to wait until the following Monday to claim the next available week 4) This may continue for several months as they update their processing systems If you're experiencing financial hardship due to this delay, you can request an expedited payment review by calling DEO directly and requesting to speak with a payment specialist.

This happened to my sister too!! She freaked out thinking her claim was messed up. But she was able to claim the second week the next Monday just like they said. So dont worry, your money is still coming, just split up now.

I finally managed to get through to DEO yesterday after trying for DAYS. Used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that somehow gets you past the busy signals. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/UzW_hbUy-ss?si=zORd51jeq1GX5Ldj Anyway, the agent confirmed they're phasing in this one-week-at-a-time claiming process statewide. She said it's to "ensure system stability" which is code for "our ancient CONNECT system can't handle the load." She also mentioned it helps them process claims faster overall even though it feels slower to us. When I asked when it would go back to normal, she said this IS the new normal. So get used to it I guess...

my freind says they doing this cuz to many ppl claiming at once on mondays and the system keeps crashing. whatevs deo always making things harder for no reason

Thanks everyone for the responses! I claimed my second week yesterday (Monday) like scheduled and it went through fine. The payment for my first week already hit my account this morning. Seems like this is just the new way things work now. Really wish DEO would communicate these changes instead of leaving us all confused and panicking!