remember to also check if u qualify for earned income credit when u file especially if u had lower income for the year due to being unemployed part of it... my tax person said alot of people miss that after being on unemployment

Just want to add that if you're planning to set aside money for taxes, consider opening a separate savings account specifically for this. I made the mistake of just keeping the money in my regular checking and ended up spending some of it before tax time. Also, if you're worried about owing a big chunk at once, you can make estimated quarterly payments to the IRS throughout the year. For next year (if you ever need UC again), definitely elect the 10% federal withholding - it makes tax time so much less stressful!

when this happened to me i just lied about my hours the next time so my claim wouldn't close again... probably not the best advice but it worked lol

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now, except I work part-time as a substitute teacher. My hours change every week depending on who needs coverage. It's such a headache having to potentially reopen my claim every other week! What I've started doing is calculating exactly how many hours I can work before hitting that 140% threshold, and then I try not to exceed it. Might be helpful for you too if your retail job will work with you on scheduling.

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! Just reopened my claim 4 days ago after being off UC for about 2 months due to temporary work, and my dashboard clearly shows "Status: Regular Active" but I keep getting that frustrating loop when trying to file my weekly certification. It's like the system knows my claim is active but then completely forgets when I try to certify! I was starting to panic thinking I'd somehow messed up the reopening process, but reading through everyone's experiences here has been such a huge relief. It's clearly a widespread system glitch from their recent update where those status flags get out of sync like others explained. Based on all the success stories here, I'm definitely going to try calling right at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning when the lines open. If that doesn't work, I might look into the Claimyr service too since it seemed to work well for several people. Really appreciate everyone sharing their real experiences and solutions - it makes dealing with these PA UC system disasters so much less overwhelming when you know you're not alone and there are actual ways to fix it! Will definitely come back with an update once I hopefully get this resolved. Thanks for creating such a helpful thread!

I'm experiencing this exact same issue and it's so frustrating! Just reopened my claim 2 days ago and my dashboard shows "Regular Active" but I keep getting stuck in that endless loop when trying to file my weekly certification. It's like the system has amnesia about what I just completed! I was really starting to worry that I'd somehow botched the reopening process, but reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly reassuring. It's clearly a widespread system glitch from their recent update where the claim status and weekly certification flags aren't syncing properly. Based on all the success stories shared here, I'm definitely going to try calling right at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning when the lines open. The timing seems to make a huge difference for actually getting through to someone who can manually fix this flag issue. If that doesn't work, I might check out the Claimyr service too since several people had good results with it. Really appreciate everyone taking the time to share their real experiences and solutions - it makes dealing with these PA UC system glitches so much less stressful when you know you're not alone and there are actual ways to get it resolved! Will definitely come back with an update once I hopefully get this sorted out.

I'm new here but your situation is absolutely infuriating and sadly very typical of what employers try to pull. The fact that they told you "going in a different direction" during termination and then explicitly said they "wouldn't be against" your unemployment claim is HUGE evidence in your favor. That's basically them admitting on record that they didn't consider it a misconduct termination at the time. What really gets me is how they only "discovered" this mysterious rule violation AFTER you filed for benefits. If there was genuine misconduct serious enough to fire you for, why wasn't it the reason given during your actual termination meeting? The timing makes it so obvious they're just trying to avoid their unemployment insurance costs. That HR email where they said your manager "misspoke" is actually perfect evidence for you - it confirms the conversation happened AND shows they're scrambling to cover their tracks after realizing their mistake. My advice: Document that crucial conversation in excruciating detail (date, time, exact words, location), keep filing your weekly claims religiously, and definitely request your personnel file via certified mail. If they had legitimate misconduct grounds, there should be progressive discipline documentation leading up to termination. The "rule violation" status is just their contest - the real decision happens during your determination interview where you'll get to expose all their contradictory behavior. Don't let their scare tactics work - you've got this!

I'm new to this community but your situation is really hitting close to home because I went through something very similar recently! The "rule violation" status is definitely scary when you first see it, but everyone here is absolutely right that it's just indicating your employer contested your claim - not that you actually violated anything. What really stands out to me is how your employer's story keeps evolving. Going from "different direction" during termination to telling you they "wouldn't be against" your UC claim to HR saying the manager "misspoke" to suddenly claiming rule violations only after you filed? That's such obvious bad faith behavior that UC examiners see all the time. That conversation where your boss said they "wouldn't be against" your claim is incredibly valuable evidence. It's basically an admission that they didn't consider your termination misconduct-related when it actually happened. No legitimate employer fires someone for willful misconduct and then reassures them about collecting unemployment! The timing alone makes their contest look suspicious - if there was real misconduct worthy of termination, it would have been mentioned during your actual firing, not "discovered" weeks later to contest your benefits. My advice: document every detail of that conversation with exact dates/times, keep filing your weekly claims no matter what, and definitely request your personnel file. If they had legitimate misconduct grounds, there should be documentation of progressive discipline leading up to it. You've got a really strong case with all their contradictory statements - don't let their intimidation tactics work!

This thread has been absolutely fantastic! As someone who's been on PA UC for about 6 months now, I can confirm that the open issue with continued payments scenario is incredibly common. I've actually had it happen twice - once for employer verification (like Ezra and Andre experienced) and once for address confirmation when I moved. Both times payments continued normally and the issues resolved within 3-4 weeks. The Claimyr recommendation is spot on - I used it during my second open issue and got through in about 30 minutes after weeks of failed attempts on the regular lines. Worth every penny for the peace of mind alone. One thing I'd add to all the great advice here: if you do get through to an agent, ask them to email you a summary of what the open issue is about and what steps (if any) you need to take. I learned this the hard way after my first call when I forgot half of what they told me. Having it in writing helps if you need to reference it later or if there are any discrepancies down the road. Thanks to everyone who made this such an informative discussion - this is exactly the kind of real-world knowledge that makes this community so valuable!

This thread has been incredibly helpful for understanding how common these open issue situations really are! As a newcomer to both this community and the PA UC system, I had no idea that continued payments during open issues were so typical. The success stories from Ezra and Andre where it turned out to be routine employer verification really show that the system does try to protect claimants when delays aren't their fault. The Claimyr recommendation seems like a game-changer - multiple people getting through in under an hour vs. impossible regular phone lines is amazing. I'm definitely saving all this advice about documentation and keeping up with weekly claims just in case I ever need it. It's pretty telling that we get better information from community discussions like this than from PA UC directly, but I'm really grateful for threads like these where people share real experiences and solutions!