Can I reopen my PA UC claim in January 2025 after teaching NJ college class?

ya you can reopen it as long as its still in the same benefit year. benefit year is 12 months from when u first applied. so if u applied august 2024 u can reopen until august 2025

You can definitely reopen your PA claim if you're still in the same benefit year. Since you were only collecting for about a month before getting the teaching job, you should still have most of your benefit weeks available to you. When you reopen the claim in January, make sure to report all your NJ earnings correctly during the reactivation process. The system will ask about work since you last filed, and you'll need to provide the NJ employer information. One thing to keep in mind is that you'll need to meet PA's work search requirements when you restart. That means applying to at least two jobs each week and completing one work search activity (like attending a job fair or posting your resume online).

Wait this is confusing to me. I thought if you work in a different state you have to file there? I had to file in DE when I worked there even though I lived in PA the whole time.

I actually went through ALMOST the exact same situation last year, except I was teaching in PA not NJ. YES, you can reopen your claim, but heads up - when I reopened mine they put a weird hold on it for like 3 weeks because they had to "verify my teaching income" or something. It was a total nightmare trying to get through to them to fix it. I must have called 50+ times and kept getting busy signals or disconnected!!! I finally got through using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that connects you directly to a UC rep instead of dealing with the stupid phone system. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 Once I actually talked to someone, they fixed it pretty quickly. Just be ready that they might put some kind of hold when they see you worked in another state. Have all your NJ pay stubs ready!

Yes, they did backpay everything once it was resolved! Just make sure you keep filing your weekly claims even while there's a hold. That was almost my big mistake - I almost stopped filing during those weeks because I thought "what's the point if there's a hold?" but the UC rep told me I HAVE to keep filing to get the backpay.

this is why i HATE the unemployment system!! They make everything SO COMPLICATED just to discourage people from getting benefits they DESERVE!!!

One thing nobody has mentioned yet that might be important: You will probably need to report your teaching earnings for the weeks you worked in NJ when you reopen your claim. Have documentation of exactly what you earned each week ready. Also, be aware that if any of your weekly NJ earnings were over your PA weekly benefit amount, those weeks won't reduce your total available weeks. I went through something similar with OH and PA unemployment, and that's how it worked for me. But my situation was different enough that maybe check with an actual UC rep to be 100% sure.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful responses! I feel much better knowing I can reopen my existing PA claim. I'll make sure to have all my NJ paystubs ready, keep filing weekly after reopening even if there's a hold, and be prepared to meet the work search requirements. Still a bit nervous about potential delays when I reopen, but at least I know what to expect now. I'll definitely look into that Claimyr service if I start having trouble getting through to UC in January.

i went thru the same thing in 2023 and they had me fill out a separate form about the out of state work. took like 2 extra weeks but got paid eventually

good luck! the whole system is basically designed to be confusing lol

Just to add one final point - since you mentioned your teaching job ends in December, don't wait until January to reopen your claim. You can (and should) reopen it during the same week your job ends. If your last day is December 20th for example, you can reopen the claim that same week. There's no need to wait until January unless that's when your job actually ends.