How to reopen claim for unemployment with NYS Department of Labor after gap in filing
I stopped filing my weekly claims back in October because I found temp work that I thought would turn permanent. Well that didn't work out and now I'm unemployed again as of last week. When I try to log into my.ny.gov to file a weekly claim, it's telling me my benefit year ended and I need to reopen my claim. I'm really confused about the process - do I need to file a completely new application or is there a way to just reactivate my old claim? I still have about 8 weeks of benefits left from my original claim that I never used. Has anyone dealt with this situation before?
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Ravi Gupta
You'll need to reopen your existing claim rather than filing a new one since you still have unused benefits. Log into your my.ny.gov account and look for the 'Reopen Claim' option on your unemployment services page. You'll have to answer questions about why you stopped filing and provide details about your recent employment. Make sure you have your last employer's information ready including exact dates and reason for separation.
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StarStrider
•Thanks! I found the reopen option but it's asking for a lot of details about why I stopped filing. Should I mention the temp work even though it was only for a few months?
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Freya Pedersen
definitely mention the temp work! they need to know exactly why you stopped filing claims. i made the mistake of not being completely honest when i reopened mine and it caused a whole adjudication mess that took weeks to sort out
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StarStrider
•Oh no, I definitely don't want an adjudication delay. I'll make sure to include all the employment details when I reopen it.
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Omar Hassan
The reopen process is pretty straightforward but they will review your employment during the gap to make sure you're eligible to restart benefits. Since you worked during that time, they need to determine if you earned enough to potentially qualify for a new claim with higher benefits, or if reopening your existing claim is better for you. The system usually does this calculation automatically, but sometimes it gets stuck in adjudication if there are questions about your separation from the temp job.
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Chloe Anderson
•This is exactly what happened to me. I had to wait almost a month for them to review my temp work and decide whether to reopen my old claim or start a new one. If you can't get through to NYS Department of Labor on the phone to check status, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get connected to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Way better than sitting on hold for hours.
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Diego Vargas
just curious - how much did you make at the temp job? if it was enough you might actually qualify for a brand new claim with higher weekly benefits instead of reopening the old one
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StarStrider
•I only made about $4,800 total over the three months, so probably not enough for a new claim. I think reopening is my best option.
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CosmicCruiser
THE SYSTEM IS SO CONFUSING! Why can't they just make it simple - if you worked you worked if you didn't you didn't. Now I have to explain every single detail about a job that barely lasted. And good luck trying to reach anyone at NYS Department of Labor to get help with this stuff.
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Anastasia Fedorov
Had similar situation last year when my seasonal job ended. The reopen went through fine but took about a week to process. Just be patient and keep checking your account for updates.
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Natasha Kuznetsova
I went through this exact same situation about 6 months ago! The key thing is to be completely transparent about your work history when you reopen. Since you only worked temporarily for a few months, reopening your existing claim is definitely the right move rather than filing a new one. One tip - when you're filling out the reopen form, make sure you have the exact start and end dates of your temp work, your employer's information, and be clear that the job ended due to it being temporary (not permanent as expected). The whole process took about 5-7 business days for me to get approved and start receiving benefits again. Don't stress too much about it - the system is designed to handle these situations since temporary work gaps are pretty common.
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