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Ryder Ross

Confused about a 'break in claim' on my NY unemployment - will I still get my payment this week?

I got a notification saying there was a break in my claim last week. I was on vacation for a few days in October and honestly forgot to certify that week. When I logged in yesterday to do my weekly certification, I saw this message about a break in claim. I'm really confused about what this means. Will I still get my payment on Wednesday like usual? Do I need to file a new claim or something? I've been on unemployment since August when my company downsized and I really rely on these payments for rent. Has anyone dealt with this before and know what I'm supposed to do now? The website isn't clear at all and I can't get through on the phone.

A break in claim just means you missed certifying for a week. You should be able to continue certifying like normal but you won't get paid for the week you missed. Your payment schedule should stay the same as long as you certify on time from now on.

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Thank you! So my payment should still come through tomorrow hopefully? I'm so stressed about this.

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Yeah, as long as you certified like normal this week, your payment should still process on the regular schedule. Just don't miss anymore weeks!

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This isn't always true tho. Sometimes a break can mess up ur whole claim and put it under review. Happened to my cousin last year 🤷‍♀️

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Had this same problem last month! Couldn't get thru to anyone on the phone for days. Finally used a service called claimyr.com that got me connected to an actual human at ny unemployment. Worth every penny because the agent fixed my break in claim issue right away and my payments started again the following week. Check out their video explaining how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

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This sounds like an ad. Does this actually work?

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Not an ad lol, just sharing what worked for me. I was desperate after trying to call for 3 days straight. Talking to an agent got my $ unlocked so fast, and they backdated the weeks I missed.

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i used this too!! was skeptical at first but after being on hold for literally HOURS every day for a week, I tried it and actually got a callback with a real person who fixed my claim

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wait so they just call for you and then transfer when someone picks up? why haven't I heard of this before??

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Yep that's exactly how it works. They basically sit on hold for you and then call you when they get a real person. Beats the hell outta listening to that awful hold music for 3 hours 😂

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you can try to backdate the week you missed by answering YES to the question that asks if you need to claim for previous weeks when you do your next certification. Won't always work tho, the system is glitchy af.

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Call them ASAP!!! A break in claim can sometimes put your whole claim on pause and you might need to verify your identity again. The longer you wait the worse it gets, trust me I learned this the hard way and went 6 weeks without payment 😭

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Omg 6 weeks?? I can't go that long without payment. I've been trying to call but it's impossible to get through

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Try calling right when they open at 8am. Or check out claimyr.com - it costs money but honestly it saved me when I couldn't get thru

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This happened to me when I was on a cruise and forgot to certify. The good news is that if your break was just one week, you usually just lose that week but payments continue. If you missed multiple weeks though, they might put your claim under review and you'll need to talk to someone.

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Wait you can't be on unemployment AND go on vacation. That's fraud. You have to be ready and available for work.

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Actually you can take a vacation while on unemployment. You just need to report that you were unavailable for work during that time and you won't get benefits for those days. Totally legal.

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Oh didn't know that. I thought any vacation time was automatic fraud. Good to know!

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The ny unemployment system is BROKEN. This happened to me a while ago and I had to jump through hoops to get my payments back. Calling them is almost impossible unless you have 5 hours to waste. When you finally get through to someone half the time they don't even know what theyre talking about. The whole system needs to be rebuilt from scratch.

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truth. spent my entire day yesterday trying to get someone on the phone. I feel like I'm begging for MY OWN MONEY that I paid into the system when I was working 🤬

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When this happened to me I just kept certifying like normal and the payments eventually started again. The system is super confusing and no one actually explains anything properly. Just keep certifying every week without fail!

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Looking at the NY DOL website, here's what a break in claim means and what you need to do: A break in claim happens when you miss one or more weeks of certification. This doesn't automatically end your claim, but it does flag it in the system. Here's how to handle it: 1. Keep certifying weekly going forward - don't miss any more weeks 2. For the missed week, you can try to claim it retroactively by selecting "Yes" when asked if you need to claim for previous weeks 3. If your payment doesn't come through on schedule, you NEED to speak with an agent to get it resolved 4. If calling is impossible (which it usually is), I strongly recommend using claimyr.com - they'll get you connected to an agent quickly 5. Make sure to document everything - dates you certified, confirmation numbers, etc. The most important thing is to get this resolved quickly. Left unaddressed, a break in claim can sometimes require you to file a new claim or even trigger an identity verification review. I went through this exact situation last year and getting a live agent was the only thing that actually fixed it. Good luck!

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Thank you so much for this detailed response! Really helpful. I'm going to try calling again tomorrow morning.

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lol good luck with that. been trying to call for 2 weeks straight. claimyr is the only way i finally got through

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Not to scare you but when I had a break in claim they put my account under review and I had to verify my identity all over again. Took like 3 weeks to get paid. System is a joke.

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one missed week shouldn't cause major issues. you should still get this week's payment on schedule as long as you certified. but definitely call to make sure everything is ok with your claim going forward.

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The term is actually "break in CLAIM" not "break in clam" lol. But yeah it means you missed certifying for at least a week. Depending on how long its been, you might need to call to get it fixed, especially if its been more than a month since you last certified.

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I'm dying at "break in clam" 💀🤣

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Omg that was a typo 😅 Obviously meant claim lol

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Pro tip: Start calling the unemployment office RIGHT when they open at 8am. That's when you have the best chance of getting through without a ridiculous wait time. Early Monday mornings are actually better than later in the week too.

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This is actually terrible advice. EVERYONE calls at 8am. I've had better luck calling around 10:30 or 2:30 when the rush dies down a bit.

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Depends on the day. Monday 8am is brutal, but Thursday 8am I got through in 10 minutes last month. YMMV I guess 🤷‍♂️

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Contact your state representative! When I had issues with my claim that I couldn't resolve by calling, I reached out to my state senator's office and they helped me navigate the system. Their offices deal with these issues all the time and have direct contacts at unemployment.

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Had the same issue, took me FOREVER to get through to someone. The only thng that worked was using claimyr.com to get through to an agent. They had to reactivate my claim but once they did my payments started again right away. This was after WEEKS of trying to call them myself with no luck.

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I went through this exact same thing a few months ago! Missing one week of certification created a "break in claim" but it didn't stop my regular payments - I just lost that one week I missed. The key is to make sure you certify this week like normal. Your Wednesday payment should still come through as long as you completed this week's certification on time. However, I'd still recommend calling them just to be safe and make sure there are no other issues with your claim. If you can't get through on the phone (which is likely), try calling right at 8am when they open or consider using one of those callback services people mentioned. The main thing is don't panic - one missed week usually isn't a huge deal, but it's better to confirm with an agent that everything is back on track.

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This is really reassuring to hear from someone who went through the exact same situation! I did certify yesterday for this week so hopefully my payment will still come through tomorrow. I'm definitely going to try calling at 8am sharp tomorrow morning just to make sure everything is okay with my claim going forward. Thank you for sharing your experience - it's helping me stress a lot less about this!

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Same thing happened to me last year! One missed week just means you lose that week's payment but everything else continues normally. As long as you certified this week you should get your regular payment tomorrow. The system makes it sound way scarier than it actually is. Just don't miss any more weeks going forward and you'll be fine!

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I had this exact same issue happen to me back in September! A break in claim sounds way scarier than it actually is. Since you only missed one week, you should be totally fine - your regular payment schedule will continue as normal as long as you certified this week like you normally do. You'll just lose the payment for that one week you missed in October. The break in claim notice is basically just the system's way of saying "hey, you missed a week" but it doesn't end your claim or anything drastic like that. Your Wednesday payment should definitely still come through tomorrow since you certified yesterday. That said, I'd still recommend trying to call them when you get a chance just to double-check that everything looks good on your account going forward. But honestly, don't stress too much about it - missing one week here and there happens to lots of people and the system handles it pretty smoothly. Just make sure you don't miss any more weeks and you'll be all set!

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This is exactly what I needed to hear! Thank you so much for taking the time to explain this so clearly. I was really panicking because the website just says "break in claim" without explaining what it actually means. It's such a relief to know that my payment should still come through tomorrow and that this isn't going to mess up my whole claim. I'll definitely still try to call them to make sure everything is good, but knowing that other people have gone through this exact same thing and it worked out fine makes me feel so much better. Really appreciate you sharing your experience!

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I went through this exact same situation about 6 months ago! A "break in claim" basically just means the system flagged that you missed certifying for one or more weeks. Since you only missed one week back in October, this shouldn't mess up your ongoing payments at all. Here's what happened in my case: I got the same scary-sounding "break in claim" message, but when I certified the following week like normal, my payment came through right on schedule. You'll just lose the payment for that one week you missed, but everything else should continue as usual. The key things to remember: - Keep certifying every week going forward without fail - Your Wednesday payment should still come through since you certified yesterday - The break doesn't automatically end your claim or require filing a new one That said, I'd definitely recommend trying to call them when you can just to confirm everything looks good on your account. If you can't get through (which is super common), some people here have had success with that claimyr service, though I personally was able to resolve mine just by continuing to certify normally. Try not to stress too much - the system makes it sound way worse than it actually is!

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This is so helpful, thank you! It's really reassuring to hear from multiple people who went through the exact same thing. The way the system words "break in claim" makes it sound like your entire claim is broken or something catastrophic happened. I'm feeling much more confident now that my payment will come through tomorrow since I did certify yesterday. I'll definitely try calling them at 8am tomorrow just to make sure there aren't any other issues lurking, but knowing that this is pretty routine and doesn't usually cause major problems is such a relief. Thanks for breaking it down so clearly!

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Ava Kim

Hey! I just went through this same exact situation last month. A "break in claim" sounds terrifying but it's really not as bad as it seems. Since you only missed one week back in October, your claim is still active and you should get your payment tomorrow as long as you certified yesterday (which it sounds like you did). The break just means you'll lose that one week's payment from October, but everything else continues normally. I was freaking out when I saw that message too, but my payments resumed right on schedule once I started certifying regularly again. That said, I'd definitely try to get through to an agent if you can - even just to put your mind at ease. The 8am calling strategy some people mentioned actually worked for me, though it took a few tries. If you can't get through, don't panic. Just make absolutely sure you don't miss any more weeks going forward and you should be fine. The NY unemployment system is terrible at explaining things clearly, but missing one week here and there is actually pretty common and the system handles it without ending your entire claim. You've got this!

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