NJ UI Question on Successive Claims Versus Reopening Claims (work, money, employment)

[scraprsmith]

I have been reading thru a lot of older posts on the subject and for NJ wondered the difference between successive claims versus reopening claims. I know claim dates are good for one year from the date claim is opened.

If you reopen a claim later on in the year does the same criteria for a successive claim have to be met when you reopen a claim (before your initial one year claim benefits are exhausted). So for NJ to reopen claim would you still have to meet the earned 6x weekly previous benefit rate and worked 4 weeks since the date you initially opened the claim or is it from the time you last collected on the claim? Or does that 6 x 4 condition only have to be met when your one year benefit period has ended and you open up a successive claim the following year and has no bearing on just reopening claim?

And does working for the same employer and getting laid off multiple times from the same employer during the same claim year have any bearing on this? Would each separation from the same employer be considered a separate event? And would each separation in the same one year benefit period have to meet the 6 x 4 criteria.

Thanks in advance. Been pondering this for the last few days and couldn't decide on how to correctly interpret the language in NJ UI booklet.

[Chyvan]

Reopening = a resumption of a claim that has not yet expired.

Successive = A new claim that is opened when an existing claim expires.

Originally Posted by scraprsmith

Or does that 6 x 4 condition only have to be met when your one year benefit period has ended

This.

Originally Posted by scraprsmith

Would each separation from the same employer be considered a separate event?

This.

Originally Posted by scraprsmith

And would each separation in the same one year benefit period have to meet the 6 x 4 criteria.

No.

Once a claim has been established, you can reopen as many times as necessary. The reason you lost your job the most recent time controls if you'll get any money because of the new separation. You can work an hour and get laid off, and get your UI back, but you can't work 10 minutes and quit and get your UI back (you might have a good reason, but there is no way in 10 minutes you gave the employer a chance to fix it.)

When the claim is expired, you have to work enough to show "attachment to the labor market." That's where the 6 and 4 comes in. However, 6 and 4 isn't usually enough to get you a benefit. It's the fact that you quite often have 3 months and 1 day up to 5 months and 29 days of unused earnings that the 6 and 4 gives you access to that provides the earnings to create the new award amount.

[scraprsmith]

Chyvan,

Thanks so much for taking the time to clarify this. I kind of thought that was the case for 6x4 but wanted to double check to make sure for the future. Rainy day here in NJ and spent the morning searching this forum trying to nail down the exact answer. Your answer is exactly what I was looking for. I will print it out and put in my UI file. Thanks again!

[scraprsmith]

Last question LOL..

If next January a new successive claim is opened does this NJ UI eligibility factor supersede the 6x4 rule:

To be eligible for unemployment benefits, you must have worked at least 20 base weeks in covered employment or you must have earned $8,600. For claims filed in 2019, the minimum base week amount is $172. These wages must have been earned during a 52 week period that is called a base year.

Confused on this because it would take a lot less earnings (in my specific case) for 6x4 versus 20 bases weeks or $8,600 in earnings to open a new claim.

If I opened a claim in January 2019 and then didn't open a claim until January 2021 is that still considered a successive claim. Is there an amount of time that has to lapse between one closed claim and another new claim for it not to be considered a successive claim?

[Chyvan]

That's where this comes into play. 6 and 4 allows you to use your unused quarters. The quarters just preceding your date of 1st filing.

So, I guess the answer to your question is that you need to meet both criteria. Someone that gets laid off the last week of Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec could easily have 20 weeks of unused wages, but without 6 and 4, they're not getting a successive claim.

Originally Posted by Chyvan

When the claim is expired, you have to work enough to show "attachment to the labor market." That's where the 6 and 4 comes in. However, 6 and 4 isn't usually enough to get you a benefit. It's the fact that you quite often have 3 months and 1 day up to 5 months and 29 days of unused earnings that the 6 and 4 gives you access to that provides the earnings to create the new award amount.

[scraprsmith]

Ok i think it finally makes sense now to me. I need to first meet the 6x4 from the claim date of this years claim to even open the successive claim next year to show that I've attached to the labor market. Then secondly when they go back to look at my base periods (either standard, alternate 1 or alternate 2) I need to also meet the 20 weeks or $8,600 total earnings criteria.

Two gates to jump thru. I was getting hung up on the differences in weeks and dollar earnings amount thinking it was one or the other and couldn't figure out why the difference. Actually I kept thinking it was 20 weeks or $8,600 that I would have had to work consecutively all in one shot immediately preceding me opening up the successive claim instead of it being cumulative from all the prior quarters in my base period. Only took all day for the light bulb to come on!

Thanks again. That's enough of UI reading for the day LOL!

[Chyvan]

From what you said, you fully understand it now.