After certifying weekly NY unemployment benefits, system shows "File A Claim" button - should I click it or wait?

Don't click file a claim if you already have an active claim! That button is there for new claims only. If you've already certified for the week, you're good to go - just wait until next week to certify again. The site layout is super confusing.

After months of trying to reach NY unemployment by phone and getting nowhere, I finally found this service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual human! They called the unemployment office for me, stayed on hold, then connected me when a rep answered. Talking to an agent got my payments flowing again after weeks of nothing. Worth checking out (claimyr.com) if you need to talk to someone about your claim. Here's a video explaining how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

DEFINITELY DO NOT CLICK FILE A CLAIM!!!! If you already have an ongoing claim and you click that, it can mess up your whole account and you'll end up with a duplicate claim in the system. Then you'll be stuck on the phone for eternity trying to get someone to fix it. Just wait till next Wednesday to certify again.

The NY unemployment website is like being stuck in 2005. It's so poorly designed its criminal. Just check your payment history to confirm you certified properly and then log out. You're all good til next week! 👍

I'm going to disagree with some people here. That screen is actually the main menu of the UI system. It always shows those options regardless of your claim status. As long as you got confirmation that you certified successfully, you're fine. The "File a Claim" button is always there, but you only use it if you're filing a new claim. It's not an error or anything to worry about.

This is why dealing with ny unemployment is such a nightmare... nothing is clear and the website looks like it was designed by a middle schooler in 2003. I had this same issue and ended up waiting on hold for 3 hours to get an answer that took 30 seconds.

When you see that message saying "You have already claimed benefits for this week" it means your certification went through successfully. The "File A Claim" option is always visible to everyone regardless of status - it's for people who need to start a brand new claim. Just ignore it until next week when you need to certify again. If you want to make sure everything is correct, click "View Payment History" instead to check your certification was registered properly.

Here's what I've learned after 9 months navigating the hell that is the NY unemployment system: First, don't panic. That screen is just showing all available services regardless of what you need. If you've already certified for the week and see the message "You have already claimed benefits for this week," you're all set. The "File A Claim" button is ONLY for: - Filing a brand new claim if you've never filed before - Filing a new claim after your benefit year has expired - Reopening a claim that was closed If you click it inappropriately, it can create problems in the system that are a nightmare to fix. The safest thing to do is just log out and wait until next week to certify again. If you do have problems or your payments get held up, I strongly recommend using claimyr.com to get through to an agent. The call center is overwhelmed and it's practically impossible to get through on your own. Claimyr will call for you, wait on hold, and connect you with a live agent. It saved me weeks of frustration when my claim got stuck in pending. Hope this helps!

I made this exact mistake a few months ago - clicked "File A Claim" when I already had an active claim. Ended up with a duplicate claim in the system and my payments got held up for 6 weeks while they sorted it out. Just wait til next week!

think of that page like a main menu at a restaurant. just cuz the menu shows steak doesn't mean u have to order it. you already got ur food (certified), so ur all good until next week.

I work in IT and the NY unemployment website is one of the worst designed systems I've ever seen. It's like they intentionally want to confuse people. If it says you've already claimed for the week, you're good. Just wait until your next certification day.

One thing I learned the hard way: take screenshots of EVERYTHING you do on the unemployment website. Every confirmation, every page, everything. If something goes wrong, you'll need proof of what you did and when you did it.