PA UC claim timing question: When to reopen existing claim during seasonal layoff?

You've got the right idea. Wait until your last day of work is complete before reopening your existing claim. Since you're working too many hours this week to qualify, reopen your claim on Monday after your layoff. Then you'll file your first weekly certification the following Sunday for the week beginning after your layoff. This prevents any confusion in the system about your work hours for this current week.

I do seasonal work too and go through this every year. Definitely wait until AFTER your last day of work to reopen the claim. I reopened mine too early last year and it created a total mess because the system thought I was still employed. If you reopen Monday, your first weekly certification will be the following Sunday for the week that just ended. Just make sure you have your final pay stub handy when you reopen - they'll ask for that info.

I got laid off from my landscaping job last month and I reopened my claim the very same day as my last day worked. That seemed to work fine. The system asked me about my final day of work and final paycheck details. Just be honest about your last day and you should be ok. The weekly filing will start on the Sunday after you reopen.

DOES ANYONE KNOW if this is different for parttime workers?? i work parttime seasonally at the ski resort and my hours are getting cut next week but not completely eliminated. i'm wondering if I need to wait until I have ZERO hours or if I can file when my hours drop below 20? the UC website is so confusing to me!!!!!

I went through the same situation last winter with my construction job. One thing to watch for - if your benefit year has expired, you'll need to file a new claim instead of reopening. Check your dashboard to see when your benefit year ends. If you're still within the benefit year, then yeah, Monday reopening makes sense. Otherwise you might need to file a whole new claim and go through the ID verification again (ugh, IDme is such a pain).

after you reopen make sure u check your dashboard everyday!!! i reopened my claim last month and it got stuck with an "open issue" that i never got notified about. ended up calling for 3 days straight with no luck getting through. i was about to give up when someone told me about this service called Claimyr at claimyr.com that got me through to an agent in about 30 min. they have a video showing how it works https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 - was the only way i could get my issue fixed. worth it cuz i was about to miss rent.

I did seasonal work for 4 years and always reopened on monday. thats the easiest way to do it so your not confused about which week your claiming for. the UC system is so confusing sometimes!!!

One more thing - if you're reopening a claim from last season, double-check that your contact info and payment method are still correct in the system. I found out the hard way that my old Money Network card had expired, and my first payment got delayed by two weeks while I waited for a new card.

Also don't forget about the job search requirements! Since you're seasonal you still need to do your job searches each week even though you're probably going back to the same employer. My buddy forgot about that last year and lost benefits for two weeks until he appealed and got a sympathetic examiner.

Just went through this exact same situation last month with my seasonal construction layoff! Definitely wait until Monday to reopen - you're thinking about it correctly. I made the mistake of reopening on a Friday while I still had hours that week and it flagged my claim for review. Took almost 2 weeks to sort out. The key is to reopen AFTER your final day of work is completely done. Then your first weekly certification will be the following Sunday for the week that just ended. Also make sure you have all your final pay info ready when you reopen - they'll ask for your last day worked and final gross pay. Good luck with the seasonal cycle!

I'm in a similar boat with my seasonal landscaping job ending next week! Reading through everyone's advice here, it sounds like the consensus is definitely to wait until after your last day of work to reopen. I'm planning to follow the same approach - reopen on Monday after my final day, then file my first weekly certification the following Sunday. One question though - for those who've done this multiple times, do you usually get your first payment pretty quickly after reopening an existing claim, or does it still take a few weeks like when you first applied? Just trying to budget accordingly for the gap period.

Been through this exact scenario multiple times with my seasonal HVAC work! You're absolutely right to wait until Monday to reopen. I learned the hard way that reopening while you still have work hours that week can trigger system flags. Here's what works for me: finish your last day Thursday, reopen Monday morning, then file your first weekly certification that Sunday for the week of March 17-23. Make sure you have your final pay stub details ready when reopening - they'll want your last work date and final gross earnings. Also pro tip: take a screenshot of your dashboard right after reopening to confirm there are no open issues before you file your first weekly cert. The seasonal reopening process is usually pretty smooth once you get the timing right!