Pennsylvania (PA) Department of Labor and Industry – End of Enhanced Unemployment Benefits Under PUA, PEUC, MEUC and $300 FPUC Programs. Retroactive Benefit Payment Updates

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (L&I) manages the states’ unemployment insurance program, which includes the federally funded pandemic unemployment programs. See further details below on the newly enhanced benefits available now, how to file a claim and whom to contact.

Also per the official PA unemployment website, they are aware of the ongoing issues people are experiencing when filing claims with the new unemployment system in place. You can see the comments forum at the end of this article for some of the reported issues and delayed payments.

How Much Unemployment Can I Get In Pennsylvania?

With the expiry the pandemic unemployment programs, only traditional/regular state unemployment is now available for full or partial unemployment claims. The table below provides key details on the latest unemployment benefits and qualifying wage requirements in the state.

You will need to submit a claim or certify your application via your state’s unemployment department to get your actual weekly benefit amount.

Note that to qualify for unemployment, your job or hours worked loss will generally need to be involuntary. I.e. through no fault of your own or via directly quitting. Your job and wages must also have been paid by an employer or source that deducted unemployment insurance taxes per state law (see your paycheck).

Further if you are being paid severance via a layoff or able to use sick leave or paid vacation, you cannot claim unemployment.

You will also need to certify for benefits at regular intervals (weekly or bi-weekly), demonstrate ongoing work availability and evidence of search requirements to keep getting weekly unemployment benefits.

Weekly Unemployment Available
(Min – Max)
$68 – $594
Additional eligible dependent benefitsAdditional $5 weekly for a dependent spouse or one dependent child plus $3 weekly for additional dependent child. Allowance for dependents cannot exceed $8 per week.
Max number of Weeks covered in Benefit Year26
Qualifying Wage Base for getting Unemployment (Min to Max)Qualifying Gross Wage: $2,718 to $23,948
37% of the employee’s total base year wages have been paid in one or more quarters. Credit week min earning req = $116
Part-Time Workers UI benefits key criteriaYou can get a partial benefit credit (PBC) based on earnings in a week.
Earn less than PBC = no reduction in benefits.
Earn more than PBC = reduce benefits dollar-for-dollar basis unital no benefits paid
PA Unemployment Benefits Summary (source: PA OIC)

Why is my weekly benefit payment lower than the maximum amount?

Your actual weekly benefit amount (WBA) is the amount of money your state agency has determined you may receive for regular unemployment insurance after filing a claim. This can change weekly based on your certification or claim for benefits.

It is based on the amount that you were paid by all employers over the states pre-defined basic or alternate wage based period(s), which are generally based on the past 4 to 5 calendar quarters spanning 12 to 18 months. The higher your earnings, the higher your approved WBA will be, up to the maximum amount allowed in the state.

Certain states also provide additional unemployment benefits for qualified dependents you are primarily responsible for, which could impact your maximum weekly benefit amount. See above table for details.

Any part time or temporary earnings from employment or other activities during eligible weeks you are claiming and certifying for benefits, will potentially reduce the amount of benefits you may get.

What if I worked or lived in another state?

If you worked or lived in another state during the base year, you should file your unemployment benefits claim in the state you worked in. Not where you reside at the time of claim.

Your claim will be paid and governed by laws of that state in which you applied for. You will need to report this on your state and federal income taxes per form 1099-G issued by the state’s UI agency.

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End of Federal Enhanced Benefits in Pennsylvania (PUA, PEUC, $300 FPUC and $100 MEUC)

Claimants on the PEUC, PUA, MEUC and FPUC programs certified for benefits for the last time covering the week ending September 4, 2021. Any active claims, with or without remaining balances, expired after this date and any weeks after Sep 5th will NOT be paid.

Claimants will also need to apply or reapply for UI benefits when they reach the end of their current benefit year (see your online payment history for this date). They must also have worked and earned enough qualified wages in the benefit year to qualify (minimum of 18 credit weeks).

While there has been a lot of discussion around extending pandemic unemployment benefits, the Biden administration has confirmed that states will have to use already allocated stimulus funding to expand or extend traditional state unemployment programs. PA state leaders have not indicated they are planning to do so at this stage, but I will post updates if things change.

Unemployment Benefit Extensions to September 2021

Under President Biden’s $1.9 trillion federal coronavirus relief package, known as the American Rescue Plan (ARPA), enhanced unemployment benefits have been extended until September 6th. This includes further extensions to the PUA program, PEUC program, $300 weekly payment under the FPUC program and $100 Mixed Earners (MEUC) program.

There were also provisions in the Biden Stimulus package for Unemployment tax breaks on the first $10,200 of benefits received in 2020.

Note that unlike many other states which ended pandemic benefits early, PA has kept theirs in place until the week ending September 4th in line with available federal funding.

PA – Latest News and Status on PUA, PEUC, MEUC and $300 FPUC Extensions and Payment Schedule

The PA Dept. of L&I and their vendor has now updated their program/systems to enable the 25 (out of the 29 legislated) weeks of extensions funded under the ARPA Program. They will notify claimants who exhausted those benefits when their payments are ready to resume. Anyone currently collecting unemployment in any amount will also receive the $300 FPUC supplemental benefit.

PUA Claimants – Extended weeks now available for all new and active claimants. PUA benefits are payable for weeks of unemployment, partial unemployment, or inability to work caused by approved COVID-19 related reasons. The Weekly Benefit Amount is based on 2019 or 2020 taxes, 1099’s, W-2, or any additional documentation that will verify 2019 or 2020 earnings (you will be asked to submit documents via your UI portal). If you applied for PUA in 2020, your Weekly Benefit Amount is based upon the earnings for 2019. If you applied in 2021, your Weekly Benefit Amount is based upon your 2020 earnings.

PEUC Claimants – Extended weeks now available. New applicants or those in a new benefit year will need to exhaust regular/traditional unemployment state benefits before getting PEUC benefits. Weekly Benefit Amount based on regular unemployment claim. Extended Benefits becomes available after regular UC benefits and PEUC benefits are exhausted.

MEUC benefits Online applications can be submitted until September 3rd, 2021. Supporting documents for claiming the extra $100 under this program MUST be submitted within 30 days of the application date. However it could take several weeks for the benefits to be paid given the processing queue and claimants should not submit more than once. Retroactive payments will be made where applicable.

All active claimants receiving regular state unemployment, PUA and PEUC will also continue to get the supplementary $300 FPUC weekly payment until September 4th, 2021.

Note – *Federal Law and UC portal will display PUA benefits increases to 79 weeks and PEUC up to 53 weeks — this is an error. Claimants will only receive PUA benefits increases to 75 weeks and for PEUC up to 49 weeks due to the last payable week of benefits being week ending September 4, 2021. See more on why this happened.

See more updates from the PA DOL here and the summary diagram below on the federal enhanced benefit programs. Per the comment forum below this article some claimants are still seeing delays or issues with their claims/payments. I will provide ongoing updates on resolution of these issues and further extensions, which you can follow via the options below.

PA DOL Unemployment Extensions

2021 Unemployment Program Extensions Under COVID Relief Bill

The $900 billion COVID-19 relief package was passed into law on Dec. 27, 2020, which among several other pandemic relief measures extends and provides additional federal funding for enhanced unemployment benefits. This includes the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) and a reinstatement, but halving of the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) Program which provides a $300 supplemental weekly unemployment payment.

These programs have been funded and extended for 11 weeks (on top of any state funded extensions), covering the weeks of December 27th, 2020 to March 14th, 2021. The $300 FPUC will only be available from the week ending 1/2/21 (subject to states updating systems) and eligible claimants can receive up to 11 weeks of payments for a maximum total of $3,300). To receive FPUC benefits, you must be receiving and certifying for regular UI, PEUC, EB, or PUA UI benefits.

PA Dept of Labor and Industry – 2021 Unemployment Extension Payment Updates and Latest News – PUA and PEUC claimants

PEUC Claimants – Program Now Available from January 24th

  • You can file for the additional 11 claim weeks during your biweekly cycle beginning Sunday, January 24.
  • If you had some of your original 13 weeks left over on December 26, you will also receive the additional 11 weeks on Sunday.
  • If you were being paid on the Pennsylvania’s Extended Benefits (EB) program before December 26, 2020, you MUST complete your EB benefits before the additional 11 weeks of PEUC can be added to your claim.
  • You will automatically receive the extra $300 weekly Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) – you do not need to take any action to get this boost.
  • PEUC provides additional claim weeks to workers who have exhausted their regular Unemployment Compensation (UC) benefits. Claimants are automatically enrolled in PEUC after they have reached their maximum claim weeks for UC.
  • If you need to request backdating for the weeks between January 2 through January 23, please email [email protected].

PUA Claimants

  • Existing PUA claimants can now file (via their PUA dashboard) for the additional 11 weeks of PUA payments. If approved, will be added to their accounts. Claimants are asked to this by Jan 29th, 2021
  • Eligible PUA claimants will be able to file for the weeks of January: 2nd; 9th; 16th; and 23rd
  • PUA claimants that no longer had claim weeks or did not file for the week ending Dec. 26 for any reason MUST REOPEN their claim before they can proceed. To do this, log onto your dashboard and click on the link to reopen a claim.
  • If you tried to open a new claim while the PUA program was inactive, you will have error codes that the UC staff must fix before you can proceed. Please be patient while we work quickly to resolve your issue.
  • If you are a new, first-time PUA claimant opening a claim in 2021, you cannot yet file. The PA Dept of L&I is still adding 2020 as a base wage year in the system and will notify you when you are able to file for benefits. 
  • You will automatically receive the extra $300 weekly Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) – you do not need to take any action to get this boost.

Open/Known issues

The PA L&I is aware of ongoing issues for certain groups of claimants per their latest Twitter update below. The main issue is for new claims being filed this year. You cannot do much at this time other than wait for updates from PA L&I

PUA claimants that experience additional issues with their claims can email [email protected] and provide a short description of the problem, their name as it appears on their claim, and the last four digits of their Social Security number. This is another way to get a response if you cannot get through to anyone.

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January 21st, 2021 update: Active recipients under regular UI and getting State EB are being paid benefits, including the $300 weekly unemployment payment. However those who have exhausted their PUA and PEUC claims will see delays in continuing their benefits under the extended 11 week coverage period and subsequently will not get the supplementary $300 UI payment until those claims can be filed. The PA Dep of L&I has provided the following updates on delays with extending PUA and PEUC claims.

Funds are automatically added to UC claimant payments – Claimants DO NOT need to apply. PA’ians on UC may see FPUC payments as early as Tues., Jan. 12. PUA and PEUC programs are being updated to allow the extended payments to be applied for existing and newly eligible claimants.

PA Office of Unemployment Compensation

Opened a new PUA claim prior to 12/27/2020: Do not take any action at this time. PA Dept of L&I will let you know when you should resume filing you benefit certifications. In the meantime, claimants should wait for further instructions before filing for additional weeks. Claimants enrolled in the programs prior to Dec. 26 should not file a new claim. 

If you have never had a PUA claim and have now opened (or plan to open) a new PUA claim 12/27/2020 or later: you may complete the application to have a PUA claim (see below), and must begin filing your weekly certifications for benefits. No payments will be released until the Department receives federal guidance and fully implemented.

Note: Some claimants have reported seeing what they believe are errors in their PUA system dashboard, but this is due to the reprogramming and the correct amounts will be populated into claimants’ dashboards when the system is ready to accept the new claims.

PEUC claimants: Those who had claim weeks remaining on Dec. 26 can now file for and receive payments for eligible weeks. The additional 11 weeks provided by the extension of the federal CARES Act have not yet been added to claimants’ accounts and cannot be paid at this time. L&I will update claimants when these weeks become available.

State Extended Benefits (EB) were unaffected by the expiration and extension of the federally funded PUA and PEUC programs. Some claimants who filed EB claims on Jan. 10 did not receive their payments on time due to a programmatic glitch. The issue was identified and remedied and payments to the affected claimants were reissued on January 17, 2020

UI claimants with existing or expired claim balances should be aware of the following general guidelines:

  • PUA and PEUC, FPUC will be automatically added and to the claimants’ benefits if they are eligible for the weeks outlined in the new legislation.
  • Claimants who will have additional weeks in UI and PUA or PEUC due to state provisions (where applicable) should watch their state agency UI portal or website for updates that will allow additional weeks to be filed.
  • Claimants will receive retroactive payments for all weeks they are eligible This applies to all enhanced benefit programs and people will receive backpay to the first day they were eligible. 
  • Claimants currently receiving benefits through the Extended Benefits program must finish all weeks of EB before receiving additional weeks of PEUC.

I will post additional details as they are released in coming days. So stay tuned for updates.


Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) Program – Now Expired/Paid

Pennsylvania has now paid out the 300 weekly payment under the LWA program, which provided supplemental payments to eligible unemployment benefits claimants who have been unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable or unavailable to work due to disruptions caused by COVID-19. The PA L&I department started making payments to eligible claimants starting September 17th (see latest LWA payout tracker by state ). A maximum of 6 weeks or $1800 of payments were made.

There was no new application for LWA. Claimants eligible for LWA will automatically receive LWA funds in addition to their weekly benefit amount as long they are eligible for unemployment benefits and unemployed or partially unemployed as a result of COVID-19.

If you are not on PUA, you will have to certify only ONCE for the LWA program. Complete your LWA Certification as soon as possible as funds are limited and not guaranteed. The LWA certification will be available when you’re due to file your biweekly claim, or it will be available if you are no longer filing. See more on the PA LWA page.

LWA Program Eligibility

  • You must be fully or partially unemployed due to COVID-19, and
  • You must have a weekly benefit rate + dependent allowance totaling $100 or more, and
  • You must receive a payment each week from an existing UI program

Starting Sunday, Sept. 6, individuals should fill out their LWA certification using their UC PIN by selecting “Complete LWA Certification” in the same application used to file biweekly claims.

On Sept. 9, 2020 the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) notified L&I that the last week for LWA benefit program is Sept. 5, 2020 due to the fund’s depletion. This is not an L&I decision. No additional payments will be allowed after Sept. 5, 2020. Hence the maximum payout for the LWA program is 6 weeks, or $1800.

The new LWA payment would be in addition to Regular Unemployment Insurance (UI), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), or Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) payments currently available to unemployed workers. LWA Payments will will be retroactive to week ending August 1, 2020.


COVID 19 (CARES) Enhanced Benefits and Payment Issues

Under the CARES act, there are three types of federal unemployment assistance now available:

• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA): expands eligibility for individuals who are typically ineligible for
Unemployment benefits, for example independent contractors, and self-employed and “gig” workers. In general, PUA provides up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits.

​Eligible, approved claimants who have no issues with their claim will receive their very first PUA payment – whether it’s the backdated lump sum payment or a regular weekly payment – within one week or less after filing their first certification. Claimants will receive their regular weekly payments within three business days after filing their weekly certification. Questions about your claims should be emailed to [email protected]. You should expect to receive a response within 7 days. This email address is for PUA questions only. Any emails unrelated to PUA will not receive a response.

Note – PUA claimants will notice a federally-required change in the weekly claim application for benefits, which was added to Pennsylvania’s PUA application on Friday, June 12. The U.S. Department of Labor requires individuals to certify for each week of PUA benefits claimed that they are unemployed for at least one of the valid COVID-19 reasons that cause their job loss.

Also going forward, recipients of unemployment benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) programs will be transitioned from paying by check to payment by electronic deposits on debit cards. This is to battle fraud and address delays in payments to several recipients. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (L&I) is providing debit cards via U.S. Bank ReliaCard, which is a secure, reliable, and prompt method of delivering funds, are being mailed to you at this time. You should expect to receive your card starting from about June 19, 2020, until July 7, 2020.

• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC): provides an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits to individuals who previously collected state or federal unemployment compensation (UC) but exhausted those benefits. PEUC benefits are available to qualified individuals whose regular UC benefits exhausted July 6, 2019 or later; and are unemployed for weeks within the time frame of March 29 through December 26, 2020. Learn more about PEUC in the Pennsylvania PEUC Claimants Brochure (UCP-26) and PEUC FAQs for additional information.

• Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) [NOW EXPIRED]: provides an additional $600 per week, on top of regular benefits. All individuals collecting any type of UC, including PEUC, will receive $600 per week in addition to their weekly benefits as calculated. FPUC payments began the week ending April 4, 2020 and will end July 25, 2020. UC claimants should now be receiving the FPUC payments, which are paid approximately one week after regular UC benefits are paid. Once the PUA Program is making payments, FPUC payments will be made retroactively for any backdated weeks of benefits for weeks ending April 4, 2020 and later. The $600 per week will be separate payments from your bi-weekly benefit. 

Backdating your Unemployment Claim’s effective date

if you are looking to have the effective date of your claim earlier than the week in which you opened your claim, you can call the PUA Call Center at 855-284-8545 OR you can send an email request to [email protected].

Email Backdating Request:

  • Include “Back Date Request” in the subject line of the email
  • Provide exact dates and how COVID affected your employment or self-employment for the additional weeks you wish to claim.
    • Examples: I want to backdate to March 22nd because I have not worked since March 20th and where I worked has remained closed due to the Governor’s closure orders.” OR “I want to go back to March 15th because I had to temporarily close my business until June 6th due to the Governor’s closure orders. Please note I don’t need to claim as of June 7 because I have re-opened my business as of June 8.” 
  • Send only one email request as they will be processed as fast as possible and multiple requests will only delay our ability to process in a timely manner.

Filing Claims

Filing a Claim for Regular UI

At this time, only our Internet Initial Application for UC benefits is available.  Click here to continue filing an application for PA UC benefits.

Filing a Claim for PEUC

File for PEUC

Individuals who are currently receiving regular unemployment benefits do NOT need to apply. Once the balance of your benefits is received, you will automatically be enrolled in the PEUC program for the additional 13 weeks of benefits.

Filing an Initial Claim for PUA

Make sure to review the PUA System Guide for helpful information on what to have ready to prepare for registering and filing your initial claim. You’ll also want to collect proof of earnings documents in advance. Click here to File for PUA

You CAN manage everything through your PUA dashboard – check on your claim status, upload documents, see payment information, etc.

Getting Your Unemployment benefit payment

You can receive UC benefit payments either by debit card or direct deposit.

My employer offered me my job back but at reduced hours.  I would make more staying on unemployment.  Can I do this?

​No. If you are offered work by your employer and refuse to accept it, even if it is at reduced hours, and your acceptance is without good cause, you may no longer be eligible for UC. Determining whether there was good cause for a refusal of work is driven by the facts of each claimant’s circumstances. UC staff would review those specific reasons and make determinations based on the facts of their individual cases.

If you do return to work at reduced hours, and this results in a reduced weekly income compared to your weekly income prior to filing for UC, you may be eligible for partial UC plus the $600 FPUC per week.

See more FAQs and Scenarios specific to PA residents here.

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293 thoughts on “Pennsylvania (PA) Department of Labor and Industry – End of Enhanced Unemployment Benefits Under PUA, PEUC, MEUC and $300 FPUC Programs. Retroactive Benefit Payment Updates”

  1. ive been waiting since july of last year for my pua…ive gotten a relia card and 2 emails. i am a small business sole proprietor and have recieved no help from the government for the pandemic. i lost all clients and home, truck, and equipment. they were suppose to send it 04/21/2021 never recieved . instead i got an email stating that there were many claimants using my email, i live with my dog. so idk whos using what, but i do know im going back to school all my bills are late and i need the money to get the business back up and running. so can someone please tell me what im suppose to do. ive contacted alot of people and nothing.

    Reply
  2. As of April 11/2021 pua site will not load for me to file its saying this page isn’t working is there a solution to this I call the more than 20times since 8:30 this morning all I get is the busy sound am I the only one or does someone know how to help

    Reply
  3. So I have been waiting over a year to get my back pay from pa February to November I was going through appeals for uc and fighting with no one giving me answers I finally got pua but 0 back pay I did all paperwork all doc sent and scanned uploaded on portal everything still nothing

    Reply
    • I am not sure it you have tried to call and copy your paperwork and make an appointment with your local state representative.. They may be able to help you . I know someone that I sent this way and it worked for them. Just trying to help. I as well keep filing since Biden put in the new extension and I have no results and I worked. It is very frustrating when you know that you are right and all of these others are getting it and some are not even legal. Good luck

      Reply
  4. Can someone PLEASE help me ? I got approved for PUA ..pa .. I got the payment & trans numbers on my dashboard. When I signed up. I set up direct deposit through my bank . my payment date was 3 days ago. No money in my bank . I never received a relicard .. Is this money going to go into my direct deposit , or do I NEED to request and wait for a relicard ?

    Reply
      • I did get the payments. . I got two checks in the mail … Exactly 7 days after my payment got accepted/posted. . but from now on , my money will go on the reliacard that they sent me in the mail also ( I didn’t receive it yet , but I can track it online , and I should get it within 1-2 more days ).

        Reply
    • I did the same thing and when I finally got in touch with pua on phone she said they no longer do direct deposit for pua (they should take that option off their web)‍♀️ She told me to change the direct deposit to ReliaCard on my pua account and call ReliaCard at
      1-855-282-6161. U have to call from whatever phone number U put on pua. The automated system will recognize ur number. It told me my card was processed without me having to do anything even tho I put direct deposit. Within a week I received paper checks for my first 2 weeks then a few days later received my card which had my 3rd week on it. The paper Cks said to signing up for direct deposit is quicker but apparently they did away with it awhile ago for pua according to the pua rep‍♀️ Hope this helps!

      Reply
    • You will get a Reliacard in the mail. I tried with direct deposit and it came on the card in 5 days. Activate when it comes and the money will be on it. They aren’t doing direct deposit anymore. You would think they would remove that option on the dashboard, or when filing.

      Reply
    • Check your dashboard again, for myself and all the people I know that have a PA UC claim open, all had a problem receiving payments due to the system automatically reset direct deposit to debit card. This happened to me when they swapped the obsolete website for today’s malfunctioning website. Others had the same scenario after using the new site, for some reason the system reverted their banking information from direct deposit to debit card. I am sure you are on top of this, but is is just another suggestion that you double check. My buddy called today and had direct—debit–scenario just happen to him today. Emails, messages thru new website feature, and phone calls are all a joke. Been on and off work since the pandemic started, and not one reply. Claim is open approved still have weeks left, nothing changed to make me ineligible, and site states “no outstanding issues.” I do weekly certifications as requested, but payments just stopped. Why…..?? I am 59 years old and will probably be collecting social security before this mess is resolved and realistically wonder if I will ever receive the rest of claim that I am eligible for. SOO you are not alone in being tormented by the PA UC. as all the comments posted imply. Please don’t let their insanity become your insanity. Just because they are incompetent, keep your head up, and keep smiling!! Your a good person and hopefully it will work out for you. Not much of a solution for your situation, mainly lettings you know not to get too discouraged. Please breath, relax, and try to KEEP SMILING!!!

      Reply
    • It may come in the form of a paper check. Iv been getting mine for 7 weeks and was set up for deposit and only received paper checks every week.

      Reply
  5. I’m from PA, I filed in January for pua for the first time due to last governor shut down. It’s says on my claim summary that four weeks of payments were made to me direct deposition the 12th of feb. and the one I just filed was paid today the 15th of feb. but I have not actually received any direct deposit yet. How long does that normally take? Can anyone offer their experience with this?

    Reply
    • I’m having the same issue I called this number 1(877) 869-1956 they said PUA dose not do direct deposite which I don’t understand y have the opition there then. they only do debit cards so they sent a check but they will be sending you a debit card

      Reply
        • hey Kayla I still have not recieved my check they said 7 to 10 business days may be longer due to the weather delys . its very furstrating

        • Yes very frustrating . I thought it would go directly depot on my bank card . then I found out they no longer do that , so I just had to order the reliacard. But I’m assuming ill get my 2 payments through check , considering it didn’t go on my direct deposit.

  6. My Pua ran out in November I saw the update about the 11 week extension as I tried to reopen my claim things were working fine but why is it asking for my earnings in all 4 quyarters for 2020 I was on unemployment for 10 months?
    I don’t know what to put in those boxes they have an asterisk so you have to fill out the info. Thanks

    Reply
    • All 0s. It will prevent the glitch in the system that was happening for self employed people. That’s what they said to do in the articles I read. I didn’t put zeros and it created chaos in my claim. You don’t include your unemployment income in those fields

      Reply
  7. I’m trying to reactivate my already existing PUA claim that ended Dec. 26, and I keep getting an “error” on the site when I try to submit the information for processing. I didn’t file for a new unemployment claim in the interim, is anyone else experiencing this problem? I know L&I has referenced “technical issues”…

    Reply
    • Yup. I had that and many other issues. It seems after a week they finally got to fixing my problems ( whatever they were). Send them an email detailing what happens and hopefully they see it. I’d subject line it error screen in all caps lol

      Reply
  8. I’ve been waiting on back pay since July 2020. For the period of March 17 to July 25, 2020. I’ve called, emailed, filled out forms. I’m seriously desperate. Any idea on what I can do? They denied my unemployment, then it was approved on July 25th. And I’ve only gotten my pay since they approved it, not since I’ve been unemployed. Literally about to lose my apartment.

    Reply
    • I’m having the same issue. Contact your local state rep and have them intervene. I’m about to go that route too.

      Reply
  9. Thursday, January 21, 2021 today…
    I hadn’t received my UC in over two weeks (usually paid weekly) and part of me wonders if a week was skipped out on because of the lapse when they did not sign the federal bill? I did receive payment yesterday but only for one week’s worth and still no extra $300 :(

    Reply
    • Same thing happened to me. I received this past weeks payment but no backdated one and no extra 300. I cant get ahold of anyone. The 800 number automatically hangs up on you and the chat just repeats itself over and over. I am on PEUC and had weeks remaining. I’m going to try to email them now.. hopefully that will get to someone soon!

      Reply
      • Neither has my husband. It says most people will receive their extra $300 by the 12th and here it is the 28th and nothing! He didn’t even receive the weeks ending the 2nd and the 9th of January yet.

        Reply
    • My husband has not received his unemployment for the weeks ending January 2nd and the 9th. They said there was a problem with those 2 weeks and they should be fixed in a day or two…..that was last Wednesday the 20th smh. They act like they don’t even care that people have bills!

      Reply
    • It says there was a problem with the weeks ending 2nd and 9th. Keep calling and you will get through to them trust me. I called like 20 times and finally got through.

      Reply
    • YES! And they lie every time I call and say they need more documentation, I provide everything they need, and still, I never get a response. I’m going to my state rep for help.

      Reply
    • I sent a message through their system on 5/7/2020 about Backdating my claim, as I had entered the wrong date of 4/19/2020 when I initially signed up. Today is 3/9/20 and still no Backdate decision has been given to me. I was told 1/6/2021 that my case was being referred to a final examiner? Emailed them a month ago on the status, been 2-months and no word yet, . Coming close to a year since I needed the Backdate funds from when I had no work, that was week of 3/22/20!

      Reply
    • yes. i have emailed several times and when they finally answered me in November 2020. it looked like a generic statement saying they needed more info from me. so i tried uploading the documents i thought they wanted, dl,front & back for id verification, mail with my address,1099c form for ss # proof, birth certificate, marriage certificate ,divorce decree, notarized id form, letter from my employer stating I was supposed to start work then the pandemic stay at home orders hit and due to that my job was rescinded. I SENT AN EMAIL FOR REQUEST BACKDATING just like they said to do, stating my reason due to covid ,my last date of work Feb. 26th/
      was also the day I was to start. I didn’t file until Aug. 23 because I didn’t think I was eligible for it. I filed,and started to receive the state minimum of 195$ and that was it. other people received thousands in one lump sum. plus all the fed extra money. so they finally answer me when the year is almost over , but never gave me an answer just telling me they need all these documents which I HAVE uploaded from my dashboard. well, still have not received an answer, by Dec 26 when it was all supposed to be over, I still had a balance of almost 3-4,000 (due to the fact they still owe me 24 weeks in backpay) I tried to file weekly I guess before the new extension was input in the system and I looked and said I didn’t have a claim! it was gone! then a week or so later it was back again, but listed as reopened claim..i didn’t reopen it. .they did and changed my benefits amount etc.. still no backpay from Feb. 2020, but I was able to get the Jan 2021 retro (3 weeks) so now i keep inquiring what else do i need to satisfy them so I can get my back pay and that just seems to go ignored, and now they are threatening me with a time frame to get the documents that I have already uploaded and i can’t get a definite answer on my back pay or what else they need. I’m afraid they are gonna give me some bs and deny my whole claim saying I didn’t give them documents in time just so they wont have to pay the lump sum of the 24 weeks I’m still owed. or do I just take it as a loss. i don’t want to keep bugging them because they may just stop my payments I’m getting now which i can’t afford that to happen, so i don’t know what to do either. any suggestions???

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      • I had no complaints until they updated the system and added the anti-fraud features. now it takes forever to process. I get that people cheat the system, but why do the honest folk always seem to suffer for it? we are finally done with unemployment. my husband’s company added enough days to disqualify us to receive it. yay

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    • YES!!!! BEEN ASKING FOR IT SINCE I FILED IN AUG 2020. I EMAILED ,CALLED,I GET NO ANSWERS BUT TO SEND IN A BUNCH OF IDENTY DOCUMENTS ETC..WHICH I DID…THEN I SENT MORE EMAILS ASKING TO BACKDATE AGAIN,NOW THEY ARE ASKING FOR SEVERAL MORE DOCUMENTS AND NOW I HAVE NOT A RESOLUTION TO MY ISSUE,,BUT I HAVE A NEW ISSUE,THEY ARE QUESTIONING ELIGIBILITY!! I HAVE BEEN ELIGIBLE SINCE THEY FIRST SAID TO APPLY TO REG UC..AND WAS DENIED,BUT ELIGIBLE FOR PUA. i think they are looking for any excuse to deny me because they dont want to give me 24 weeks of back pay plus the supplemental 600$ for all of those weeks. i cant get any answers, my pua is almost out of weeks, i’m losing my place to live, i may need to move back home with my parents in calif. but I dont want to leave until this gets cleared up or do i just take it as a loss! ?? this sucks!! i just want to know …do i get my back pay or not? federal gov says we all are supposed to get backdated all the way back to our last date of employment, mine was feb 26,2020..i put than my application…so why didnt they put it down for then. or change it when i requested almost a year ago? why wait til program is almost finished? so frustrating! anyone else going thru this?

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  10. What abput tgose of us who own their homes.. ots fine for ewnters they can’t be thrown out rn.. but those of is who own our homes free amd clear and broke to say that are now in jeopardy of losing it.. we still have to pay our bills plus taxes are due again soon .. this is 2nd year in a row so if u were behind a year when this all started last yr then ur house is going up for auction.. where is our protection?.. property taxes are handled by the local gov. So why are they still able to collect and/or put ur home up for sheriffs sale?.. i had 1 check left on my PEUC claim which, to correct a prev comment, comes before EB benefits.. we worked and paid into unemployment to get our benefits yet we are the one’s losing out. They say contact local programs for help but these programs are out of funding because of all the ppl who need it.. sure i get food stamps and medical thru pa welfare but how far do they think $144 goes?.. then they say they will give the difference to us to make sure everyone gets the full allowance for ur household size.. but here it is .. middle of the month and i haven’t seen the extra $60 in food stamps .. which by the way .. buys very little at the store because they are raising their prices because they are taking advantage of this crisis. So what is PA gonna tell those of us who are going to be homeless and starving who don’t have family left?.. sorry?.. waiting for guidance because we are one of the few states left still not paying our ppl the crumbs they feel we deserve to have.. PA’s a joke.. i am seriously thinking of selling my house and moving to Canada where they are giving their residents $4000/month to live on and a $9000 stimulus checks..

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  11. So the only benefit PA is paying currently is regular UC + the 300 weekly. EB claims seems to be really getting the shaft according to the PA UC website. It states that EB claimants may not receive payment until PEUC is complete. Given this extension specifically states hou must finish your states EB program before moving to PEUC , that would imply that people currently on EB will not receive a payment until march or april when PEUC completes ? I’m on this program now and so are many People looking at the Dept of Labors twitter page. If this is really the case, this is criminal. If anyone can clarify this that would be greatly appreciated. As a father or 2 and main provider for the family, it’s very worrisome and frustrating. Especially when the state specifically says NOT to contact them about EB payments and if you do they basically have no info for you and day good bye. ANYONE PLEASE ADVISE. WE WILL BE HOMELESS BY THEN AS WILL MANY.

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  12. I filed my uc on Sunday and normally receive on Wednesday and I still haven’t received payment. My claim balances are different online and pat tele by the payment amount but not recorded. Anyone have any insight on this issue? Of course the line is busy when calling.

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      • I’m still missing my payment for week ending 3/27/21! I got the extra $300, but not my regular unemployment.
        I was in the PEUC, but now I do the EB claim as well.

        So now this week (4/3), I was only able to file the PEUC, but couldn’t do the EB claim until 4/18? I don’t know why, but when I file weekly, it has me doing the PEUC and EB to get my money.
        Now I am missing my $300 for this week and worried I won’t even get the money I was owed from last week and this week.

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    • My benefits exhausted after they26th so I opened a new claim n
      Been filing for 2weeks now nothing it keeps saying bending exhaust don’t no way to do I was on put in pa

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    • I haven’t received my payment for the week before last and just checked the benefit payment table and it says that they pretty much skipped my last weeks payment and that the payment date for this past Sunday filed was paid today but nothing yet deposited or any extra money????

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    • Yes, neither has my husband. He called and called and called and finally got through and they said that there was a problem with the weeks ending the 2nd and 9th. He talked to the guy on the 20th and he still didn’t get the payment for those 2 dates but received one for this past bi weekly claim smh BUT no extra $300 either. I would call, hang up, call again, hang up, call again, hang up, call again. You will finally get through.

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    • My friend has gotten thers the last two weeks but figure this one out I haven’t gotten one since February I’ve been disqualified I’m the one that worked all my life I pay taxes in the Pennsylvania all my life collected unemployment one time in my whole life but the two friends I’m talking about the one hasn’t worked the day in his life the other one just quit because he felt like it and they’re not reviewed or nothing I was reviewed three times each time that I was qualified then towards the end said I wasn’t then they kicked me off and now they want me to pay them all back figured out one out please feel free to comment because I’m having a hard time understanding Pennsylvania it makes me not want to pay taxes in this state anymore and work under the table because I’m I’m angry on her and I’m going to be living in my car soon it’s not fair

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  13. I recently got approved for regular unemployment $147.00 a week they take $50 out for child support a week which leaves me with $98 will I still get the extra $300 in unemployment I read that you have to have at least $100? I hope they go off of what I was approved for!

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  14. Hi I was accepted for lwa but I still have not received it at all I live in pa so what happened to the lwa I was supposed to get

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    • Do you have a reliacard? They were sent to everyone who applied for pua,peuc, ui, etc. I originally filed my claim in june of this year,
      Backdated to the 1st week of last February and received the card with just over 16,000$ on it. I had to go back and certify for every week starting then to the current date and I continue receiving up until the first week in November and my benefits exhausted I automatically got the lost wage assistance in one lump sum $1800
      I have a problem now I was told after 27 December we could re-file a claim and I did that and apparently it was flagged which is not really a big issue at the moment however today there’s a big red banner at the top of the website saying not to do that after they told us to do that so now I have a feeling I’m screwed thanks Pennsylvania love you too

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  15. Hi everyone, I have called the PUA number about a million times and finally go through. When I got through it asked me to put my social number in and when I did the number told me they couldn’t help me. Anyone have any suggestion how I can get a hold of PUA? I would really appreciate it! Thank you.

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    • Send them an email. If you have A profile or account made it go to the bottom of the page contact us scroll down to the bottom and there is a link I believe it’s uc.gov/PA or PUI only send one email on the subject line put what your issue is in the last four digits of your social and then explain to them your situation sad part is it takes about 15 days for someone to get back to you so I send them one every hour or so every day until I get a response

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    • Call back stay on the line u will hear static and something that sounds like growling then after a minute u will be transfered to a rep just let the while recording okay at the beginning

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  16. Hey I was getting my PUA benefits right a lot no issues on my dashboard and 13 weeks ago benefits stop I email and called didn’t get to talk to them, anyone’s benefits stop and still file every week about to get kicked out on the street, like Friday, need Answers immediately thank you

    Reply
    • You cant get kicked out now. There is a eviction moratorium right now. Its a piece of paper sign it and give it to your landlord and she will not be able to kick you out. Its all over you can type in google.

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        • Yo Justin im trying to figure something out!! I’m here in Philly and my PEUC ran out cause they didn’t sign the bill yet and the jawn said I had to refile my claim and I did but since then they signed the bill so we can get the extra weeks ,so when i do the bi weekly claim do I still do it under the PEUC or do I do it under the EXTENDED BENEFITS part!!?? Know what I mean! Cause they keep saying that the PEUC is gonna keep going but on the jawn it says you claim EXTRA BENEFITS If you exhausted the PEUC but that’s back in place!! I’m confused!! What do you think I should do

    • My God the same thing happened to me I have not had a payment from them since July 11. Now I’m eligible for regular UI And they deleted my PUA claim. And I still haven’t spoke to anybody I’ve contacted state representatives I even called the governors office and nothing nobody wants to help it’s a glitch in their system and they don’t Care That our phones are getting turned off and that we are getting kicked out. This is a disaster and I swear I’ll never vote for any of these people ever again

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    • This happenes to me i was unser review for fraud. This stoppes on july 17 and i files every week pnce it got all cleared up i got paid and that was just on nov 5. So it took 2 months to get $4609..o wish u the best

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  17. My unemployment ended the middle of July. I applied for the PEUA. Received a financial Determination letter stating that I qualified. Have been filing my claim every 2 weeks as was told to do. As of today, October 9th, have not received any payment. Was told h the PEUA was suppose to start automatically once my regular funds ended. Can’t get through to the state of PA to get help. Been 3 weeks since I emailed looking for an answer.

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