diff --git a/actions/issueflow-reconcile/issueflow-reconcile.sh b/actions/issueflow-reconcile/issueflow-reconcile.sh
index 672f197..d0b730b 100644
--- a/actions/issueflow-reconcile/issueflow-reconcile.sh
+++ b/actions/issueflow-reconcile/issueflow-reconcile.sh
@@ -78,9 +78,9 @@ author_decision() { # $1 = true when author is triage; labels on stdin
 
 claim_decision() { # $1 assignee count, $2 linked open PR, $3 age seconds
   local assignees="$1" open_pr="$2" age="$3"
-  if [ "$assignees" -eq 0 ]; then echo FLAG_UNASSIGNED
-  elif [ "$open_pr" = true ] || [ "$age" -le "$STALE_AFTER" ]; then echo KEEP
-  else echo RECLAIM
+  if [ "$open_pr" = false ] && [ "$age" -gt "$STALE_AFTER" ]; then echo RECLAIM
+  elif [ "$assignees" -eq 0 ]; then echo FLAG_UNASSIGNED
+  else echo KEEP
   fi
 }
 
@@ -186,8 +186,12 @@ reconcile_issue() {
         ensure_comment "$n" claim-reclaimed \
           'This claim has no linked open PR and no activity for 48 hours. The sweep is reclaiming it for the ready queue.'
         owners="$(jq -r '[.assignees[].login] | join(",")' <<<"$ISSUE_JSON")"
-        run gh issue edit "$n" -R "$REPO" --remove-assignee "$owners" \
-          --remove-label claimed --add-label ready >/dev/null
+        if [ -n "$owners" ]; then
+          run gh issue edit "$n" -R "$REPO" --remove-assignee "$owners" \
+            --remove-label claimed --add-label ready >/dev/null
+        else
+          run gh issue edit "$n" -R "$REPO" --remove-label claimed --add-label ready >/dev/null
+        fi
         log "#$n: stale claim reclaimed -> ready" ;;
     esac
   elif has_issue_label blocked; then
diff --git a/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh b/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
index 0806443..f78aa69 100644
--- a/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
+++ b/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ check "claim with open PR stays claimed" 0 "KEEP" claim_decision 1 true 999999
 check "recent claim without PR stays claimed" 0 "KEEP" claim_decision 1 false 60
 check "unassigned claim is flagged" 0 "FLAG_UNASSIGNED" claim_decision 0 false 60
 check "quiet claim without PR is reclaimed" 0 "RECLAIM" claim_decision 1 false $((STALE_AFTER + 1))
+check "quiet unassigned claim is also reclaimed" 0 "RECLAIM" claim_decision 0 false $((STALE_AFTER + 1))
 
 # Invariant 3: blocked declarations parse and release only when all close.
 refs="$(blocked_references <<< $'Context #99\nBlocked by #12 and #7')"
diff --git a/test/labels.test.sh b/test/labels.test.sh
index a042f41..af0d4de 100755
--- a/test/labels.test.sh
+++ b/test/labels.test.sh
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ trap 'rm -rf "$TMP"' EXIT
 
 printf '%s\n' \
   'panel=one two three' \
+  'triage-actors=triage-one' \
   '' \
   'scope:one|C5DEF5|First scope' \
   'scope:two|C5DEF5|Second scope' >"$TMP/good.conf"
@@ -25,6 +26,10 @@ check "panel is parsed" 0 "one two three" bash -c \
 check "core and config rows merge" 0 "scope:two|C5DEF5|Second scope" bash -c \
   'source "$1"; core_label_rows; configured_label_rows "$2"' _ \
   "$ROOT/actions/labels-reconcile/labels-reconcile.sh" "$TMP/good.conf"
+# shellcheck disable=SC2016 # expansion belongs to the nested bash
+check "triage config is not parsed as a label row" 1 "" bash -c \
+  'source "$1"; configured_label_rows "$2" | grep -F triage-actors' _ \
+  "$ROOT/actions/labels-reconcile/labels-reconcile.sh" "$TMP/good.conf"
 check "missing scope config is an empty table" 0 "" configured_label_rows "$TMP/missing.conf"
 
 printf '%s\n' 'scope:bad|C5DEF5' >"$TMP/bad.conf"