What does open status mean on NYS Department of Labor unemployment claim?

Open status means your claim has been established and is active in the system. It doesn't necessarily mean you're approved for payments yet - that depends on whether there are any adjudication issues or eligibility determinations pending. Have you received any correspondence from NYS Department of Labor about your claim?

Open just means the claim is in the system and you can file weekly claims. But you won't get paid until all the verification stuff is done. Check if there's anything in your 'to do' list on the portal - sometimes they need additional documentation.

Same thing happened to me!! Had open status for like 3 weeks before I got my first payment. The NYS Department of Labor system is just slow sometimes especially if you're a new claimant. Keep filing your weeklies though or you'll lose those weeks.

If you can't get through to NYS Department of Labor by phone (which is basically impossible these days), I had success using Claimyr to actually reach an agent. They helped me figure out what was holding up my claim when the portal wasn't showing anything. Check out claimyr.com - there's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Way easier than sitting on hold for hours.

The whole system is a joke. Open status could mean anything - they just keep you guessing while your bills pile up. I've had open status for a month and still no payments because apparently they need to 'verify my employment history' even though I submitted everything they asked for.