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Victoria Jones

What does issue closed level 1 mean for unemployment NYS Department of Labor claim?

I've been checking my unemployment claim status on my.ny.gov and it now shows 'issue closed level 1' but I have no idea what this means. My weekly claim certification was pending for two weeks and now I see this status. Is this good or bad? Does it mean my claim is approved or denied? I can't find any clear explanation of what level 1 means specifically. Has anyone else seen this status before?

Cameron Black

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Issue closed level 1 typically means the initial review of your claim issue has been completed and resolved in your favor at the first adjudication level. This is generally good news - it means whatever was flagging your claim has been cleared without needing to escalate to higher review levels. You should see your payment status update within the next few business days.

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Thank you! That's a relief. I was worried it meant something was wrong with my claim.

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Yeah I had that same status last month when they were reviewing my separation reason. Took about 3 days after seeing 'issue closed level 1' before my weekly claims got released for payment. The level 1 part just means it didn't need to go to a higher level adjudicator for review.

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How long was your claim stuck in adjudication before it got to the closed level 1 status? Mine's been pending for almost 3 weeks now.

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Ruby Garcia

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If you're still having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to confirm what this means for your specific situation, I had success using Claimyr to get connected to an actual agent. They have this system that handles the calling and waiting for you - check out claimyr.com and there's a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Way easier than trying to call yourself and getting disconnected.

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That actually sounds helpful. I've been trying to call for days about my own claim issues and keep getting hung up on.

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issue closed level 1 is def good news! means ur claim passed the first review and they didnt find any problems that needed more investigation

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I remember seeing this status and panicking because 'closed' sounded bad to me lol. But yeah it's actually the opposite - it means the issue that was holding up your claim is now closed/resolved. The level system just indicates how complex the review was.

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Same here! I thought closed meant they closed my whole claim. The wording is really confusing.

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I had the same exact status show up about two months ago and was just as confused! "Issue closed level 1" basically means whatever flag or issue was preventing your claim from processing has been reviewed and resolved at the first level of adjudication. In my case, it was related to them verifying my work history. Once I saw that status, my pending weekly certifications were released for payment within about 4-5 business days. The "level 1" part just indicates it didn't require escalation to more senior adjudicators - so it's actually a pretty straightforward resolution. You should be all set!

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Josef Tearle

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That's really reassuring to hear! I was getting so anxious seeing "closed" thinking it meant something negative. It's helpful to know the timeline too - I'll keep checking over the next few days for my payments to process. Thanks for sharing your experience!

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I went through this exact same thing about 6 weeks ago! When I first saw "issue closed level 1" I had no clue what it meant either - the NY DOL system really doesn't explain their status codes very well. But like others have said, it's definitely good news. In my case, they were reviewing whether I was eligible since I had been laid off from a temporary position. Once that status appeared, it took exactly 3 business days for my backlogged weekly certifications to switch from "pending" to "paid" and the money hit my account. The key thing is that "level 1" means it was a routine review that didn't need to go up the chain to more senior staff. Keep checking your payment history over the next few days - you should see movement soon!

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This is so helpful! I'm in a similar situation where I was laid off from a contract position and have been worried about eligibility. It's reassuring to know that level 1 reviews can handle those types of situations without major delays. I'll definitely keep checking my account over the next few days. Did you have to submit any additional documentation during the review process, or did they resolve it just based on what you had already provided?

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Sophia Nguyen

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I had this exact status appear on my claim about 3 months ago and was just as confused! From what I learned through my experience, "issue closed level 1" means that whatever was flagging your claim for review has been resolved by the first-tier adjudicators. In my case, it was related to them verifying my reason for separation from my previous employer. The "closed" part threw me off at first because I thought it meant my entire claim was closed, but it actually just means the specific issue/flag is now closed and resolved. After seeing this status, my pending weekly certifications were released and I received payment within about a week. It's definitely a positive sign that your claim is moving forward normally now!

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Ethan Wilson

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That's exactly what I needed to hear! I had the same reaction when I first saw "closed" - I immediately thought my whole claim was shut down. It's such a relief to know this is actually a good thing and means they've resolved whatever was holding things up. A week for payment sounds reasonable too. Thanks for explaining it so clearly!

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Just wanted to add my experience for anyone else who might be worried about this status! I had "issue closed level 1" appear on my claim about a month ago and like everyone else here, I was completely confused by the wording. In my case, they were reviewing my eligibility because I had reduced hours before being fully laid off. The whole review process took about 2 weeks from start to finish, and once I saw that "level 1 closed" status, my payments were released within 3 business days. The NY DOL really needs to make these status descriptions clearer - "issue resolved level 1" would be so much less confusing than "closed"! But rest assured, it's definitely a positive outcome.

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I completely agree that the wording is so confusing! I'm dealing with a similar situation right now where I had reduced hours before my layoff, so it's really reassuring to hear that your review was resolved at level 1. Two weeks for the whole process doesn't sound too bad either. Did you have to provide any additional documentation about the hour reduction, or did they handle it based on what your employer reported? I'm trying to figure out if I should be proactively submitting anything or just waiting it out.

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Yara Khoury

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I just went through this same situation about 2 weeks ago and was equally confused by the "issue closed level 1" status! Like everyone else mentioned, the wording is really misleading - I initially panicked thinking my claim was being closed entirely. But it turned out to be great news! In my case, they were reviewing some inconsistent wage information between what my employer reported and what I had on my application. Once that status appeared, it took exactly 4 business days for all my pending weekly certifications to switch to "paid" status. The "level 1" designation just means it was straightforward enough that a first-level adjudicator could handle it without escalating to supervisors or more complex review processes. You should definitely see your payments start processing soon - keep checking your payment history daily!

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Thanks for sharing your experience! It's so helpful to hear from someone who just went through this recently. The wage information discrepancy issue sounds similar to what might be happening with my claim - I noticed some differences between my pay stubs and what showed up in the system. Four business days for payment processing after seeing that status gives me a good timeline to expect. I'll definitely keep checking daily like you suggested. It's such a relief to know this is actually positive progress rather than something to worry about!

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I had this exact same status show up on my claim about 6 weeks ago and was just as confused! The NY DOL website really doesn't do a good job explaining what these status codes mean. "Issue closed level 1" basically means whatever problem or flag was preventing your claim from moving forward has been reviewed and resolved by a first-level adjudicator. In my case, they needed to verify my employment dates because there was a discrepancy in the system. The "closed" part just means that specific issue is now closed/resolved - NOT that your entire claim is closed. After I saw this status, it took about 5 business days for my pending weekly certifications to get released for payment. The fact that it says "level 1" is actually good because it means the issue was straightforward enough that it didn't need to be escalated to higher-level reviewers. You should start seeing your payments process within the next week!

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QuantumQuasar

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Thank you so much for this detailed explanation! I've been checking my status obsessively and was getting really worried when I saw "closed" thinking it meant something bad. It's such a relief to hear from so many people who've been through this exact same thing. The employment date verification issue sounds like it could be what's happening with mine too - I had a gap between jobs that might have looked confusing in their system. A week for payments to start processing gives me a realistic timeline to expect. I really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences here - it's so much more helpful than the vague information on the official website!

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Miguel Castro

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I can definitely relate to the confusion around this status! I had "issue closed level 1" appear on my claim about 8 weeks ago and had the exact same panic reaction when I saw the word "closed." Like everyone else has mentioned, the NY DOL really needs to work on their terminology because it's so misleading. In my situation, they were reviewing my claim because I had filed in one state but worked in another, which apparently triggered an automatic review. Once that status appeared, it took about 6 business days for my backlogged certifications to switch from pending to paid. The "level 1" part is definitely a good sign - it means whatever they were reviewing was routine enough that a first-tier adjudicator could handle it without needing supervisory approval or more complex investigation. Based on all the experiences shared here, it sounds like you're in good shape and should see your payments start processing within the next week. The waiting is nerve-wracking, but this status is actually progress in the right direction!

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Miguel Silva

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Thanks for sharing your interstate filing experience! That's actually really helpful because I'm in a similar situation - I moved states right before filing and wasn't sure if that would complicate things. Six days for payment processing after seeing the level 1 closed status seems pretty consistent with what everyone else is reporting. It's such a relief to hear from so many people who've been through this exact same confusion and came out fine on the other side. You're absolutely right that the waiting is nerve-wracking, but knowing this is actually positive progress makes it so much easier to be patient!

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Callum Savage

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I just wanted to chime in with my recent experience since I literally just went through this exact same thing last week! Like everyone else here, I was completely baffled when "issue closed level 1" appeared on my claim status. I actually called the DOL (after waiting on hold for over 2 hours) because I was so confused by the wording. The representative confirmed what everyone here is saying - it means the issue that was flagging my claim has been successfully resolved at the first review level. In my case, they needed to verify my reason for leaving my last job since my employer initially reported it incorrectly. Once I saw that status change, it took exactly 3 business days for my pending certifications to switch to "paid" and the money showed up in my account. It's definitely frustrating how unclear their system messaging is, but this is absolutely good news! Your payments should start processing very soon.

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