What's a 'break in claim' for NY unemployment - will I still get my payment Wednesday?

A 'break in claim' happens when you don't certify for benefits for one or more weeks and then try to restart. The system basically thinks you stopped claiming and are now trying to begin again. Did you miss certifying last week? If you did, you'll need to reopen your claim before you'll get paid again. Unfortunately, that means you probably won't get paid this Wednesday.

i had this happen 2 me back in jan. took almost 3 weeks b4 i saw money again smh

You need to call the NYSDOL right away to get this fixed. The online system isn't great at handling breaks in claims. When you do get through, explain you were sick and forgot to certify - they can sometimes backdate it for you if you have a good reason. You'll need to request a "docket reopening" specifically.

After you reopen your claim online, there's usually a 1-week waiting period before benefits resume. That's why the other person said 3 weeks. First week to reopen, second week is waiting period, third week you finally get paid. It's totally stupid but that's how NY unemployment works now in 2025. It wasn't always this complicated!

I had the exact same issue last month and couldn't get through on the phone for days. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in about 20 minutes instead of spending hours redialing. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE. The agent was able to fix my break in claim that same day and I only missed one payment instead of waiting weeks. Definitely worth checking out if you're desperate to get this fixed quickly.

this happend to me to. they make it so complicated ON PURPOSE!!! the whole system is designed to stop people getting money they deserve. try calling right when they open at 8am thats when i finally got thru last time

Hey everyone, I work at a community assistance center that helps with unemployment issues. Here's how breaks in claims currently work in NY for 2025: 1. If you miss certifying for any week, you get a "break in claim" status 2. You need to reopen your claim either online OR by phone 3. Online reopening can take 1-2 weeks to process 4. Phone reopening with an agent can be processed immediately 5. If you had a valid reason for missing certification (like illness), agents have authority to backdate The fastest solution is definitely getting through to an agent by phone. Once fixed, payments typically resume on the next scheduled payment date, but only if it's resolved at least 2 business days before your normal payment day.

This reminds me of when I lost my job at the warehouse last year and had to deal with all this unemployment stuff. Got so confused with all the certifying and waiting periods and whatnot. Ended up having to borrow money from my sister while waiting for payments to start. The whole system is so complicated.

UPDATE: I finally got through to an agent! Used that Claimyr service someone mentioned and it actually worked. The agent was able to fix my break in claim issue and said my payment should process normally for Wednesday. She also backdated my missed certification since I had documentation of a doctor's visit last week. So relieved! Thanks everyone for your help!