Minnesota began paying out on January 4, and by January 8, it reported that nearly $44 million in PUA and PEUC payments and $77 million in FPUC payments had been paid out to 240,000 Minnesotans. A place for your unemployment insurance questions. As a special bonus, all new monthly gifts made today will be matched as 12X their value thanks to the generosity of the Lenfest Institute for Journalism. 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. Senator Casey said, Now that the Senate has passed the American rescue plan, the country is one step closer to putting the virus behind us. Everything you need to know for the 2023 Pa. primary. By our calculations, these delays have resulted in shortchanging jobless workers by about $17.6 billion in benefits for the first four weeks in January 202138 percent less than these . By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. 3) Claimants who did not get the option to file for the weeks between Dec. 26 and the day they reopened their claims. REMINDER: Waiver is only available for non-fraud overpayments of federal benefits. An average of 5,000 claims daily are filed in Pennsylvania for PUA benefits, according to Susan Dickinson, director of the Office of Unemployment Benefits Policy. Your support enables us to continue to produce tough, unique reporting you wont find anywhere else. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. The federal Department of Labor did not provide L&I with the necessary guidance for the changes to the PUA program until Jan. 11. A fix for that server connectivity issue is underway, according to the department. Even some of the states generally paying out PUA and PEUC benefits have yet to restart them for all those who gained new eligibility from the bill after having exhausted CARES Act aid. Extension of PUA and PEUC will resume for nearly 19 million Americans, including more than 500,000 Pennsylvanians. Still, technology experts warn that even indications of a smooth launch may obscure deeper problems that have to be resolved down the line. DIDN'T NEED ALL THE PEOPLE BECAUSE OF WHAT WAS GOING ON. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 enhanced unemployment benefits for 18.6 million Americans relying on jobless pay during the pandemic. I found a 'script' if you will on the Facebook group that details how to get past the bot to a human and that takes hours. Hearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. We have no billionaire owner or shareholders to consider. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. By our calculations, these delays have resulted in shortchanging jobless workers by about $17.6 billion in benefits for the first four weeks in January 202138 percent less than these workers were due to receive. It's now almost 3 AM on Thursday and my payment still didn't go through. THE ADDED STRESS. Phones were back online by around 11 a.m. L&I has made approximately $16.2 billion in FPUC payments since March 15. While people would not be paid right away, they will be able to certify and get paid for all weeks they are unemployed,. WE REACHED OUT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY ABOUT THE DELAYS. Source: Authors estimates from U.S. Department of Labor data. Payments for new applicants are being temporarily delayed until the new measures are implemented, L&I said. "The bad behavior of these scammers is hurting Pennsylvanians, and we are continuing to work with the Pennsylvania Attorney General, U.S. Unemployment Compensation is a state program that provides up to 26 weeks of payments to eligible claimants who are able and available to work but have lost their jobs for qualifying reasons. Especially in tighter economic times, people should not be forced to choose between the essentials, and essential news. L&I said people who have received unemployment benefits they did not apply for should not use the funds and instead return them. Pennsylvania, another state, the federal government or Canada. Others had a smoother experience. Our readers keep us independent, beholden to no outside influence, and accessible to everyone whether they can afford to pay for news, or not. 15 Best Amazon Clothing Brands Including Closet Staples and Statement Pieces, Memorial Day Sales 2023: The Best Early Memorial Day Deals You Can Shop Now, 45 Best Wedding Gifts That Are Way More Unique Than a Blender, 25 Trendy Amazon Spring Fashion Finds You'll Want in Your Closet ASAP. Similarly, of the thirty-eight states paying out PEUC, fifteen states took more than two weeks to get their systems paying out to claimants. REPORTER: EWING IS FORTUNATE TO HAVE FAMILY WHO HELPS BUT THERE ARE MANY WHO DO NOT. She noted that workers can file claims by telephone again starting Thursday if they are still having trouble. The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. Follow the same process as before to log onto your dashboard and claim the additional weeks, which will be added to your account. . The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. After a claimant exhausts PEUC, they become eligible for additional weeks through the EB program. The Department stressed email inquiries are the fastest way to get a response from officials and to send that email to the department (UChelp@pa.gov) with the last four numbers of the claimant's social security number and detailed information on the problem they are facing. The PUA payments, which are part of the latest federal stimulus package, had been delayed for weeks as L&I worked to update their computer system to meet new federal requirements. PA Department of Labor & Industry on Twitter: " 3/23/21 PUA & PEUC payment delay updates: PEUC claimants who filed 3/21 + 3/22 should expect payment delays. PUA claimants self-certify each week that they are unemployed as a result of the ongoing coronavirus, but they do not go through the same checks to prove they are qualified to receive benefits as the claimants who file for traditional unemployment, officials said. Who is eligible for PEUC? To access account information such as overpayments, appeal status, documents and more, log in to the PUA . I sent one on 1/5 and didn't get a reply until 1/20. Those who should have received benefits include all those previously collecting state or federal unemployment insurance (UI) on December 26, as well as those who exhausted PEUC or PUA benefits in 2020 and were still out of work. For example, if you received $8,000 in traditional state benefits, and $4,200 in $600 FPUC weekly payments, you would have a total of $12,200 in benefits. Sign up for PA Post and get a free daily email with I'M SICK EVERY DAY WITH A MIGRAINE, STOMACH ISSUES, BECAUSE OF THE STRESS. If you value this reporting, please give a gift today at Before you move on, I was hoping you would consider taking the step of supporting Spotlight PAs journalism either one time, or with a monthly gift. These two programs expired just before the end of December before President Trump. A PLACE SHE NEVER EXPECTED TO BE. The response was very general and didn't answer my specific questions. PUA is the federally funded program created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that pays unemployment benefits to individuals, including independent contractors and gig workers, who otherwise dont qualify for state benefits because they are self-employed. The statuses of each active unemployment program is as follows: Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), Claimants who have questions about their individual claim should email uchelp@pa.gov, "It's a complete nightmare," said Ewing. The Century Foundation FPUC provides an additional $300 to claimants each week they receive at least $1 in benefits from the UC, EB, PEUC or PUA programs. The timing of the payments' arrival varies based on when claimants file the claims for their other unemployment benefits and the method the claimant chose to receive their payment (checks require mailing time, financial institutions may cause delays with direct deposits, etc. L&I will make an announcement when the additional 11 weeks have been added to claimants' accounts and filing for these weeks begins. Fill out the waiver request on the Philadelphia Legal Assistance website at: You will receive a determination in the mail about whether the waiver has been granted in your case. A long-delayed upgrade of Pennsylvanias computer system for unemployment benefits made a glitch-filled debut Tuesday, frustrating some jobless workers and confirming the concerns of critics who feared the new system would buckle under the heavy, pandemic-fueled demand. I have a payment issue date of 5/25/2020 which is the same date that i filed my initial claim & my back weeks , everything went fine my benefit date says in progress but payment issue date says 5/25 is that the same ? Some people who were receiving benefits through the old system last week were told they were ineligible. Her computer screen went blank when she tried to confirm she wasnt a robot. The phone outage was unrelated to the new unemployment system and affected several state agencies, according to the department. GSI did not respond to questions Tuesday, but a spokesperson, Michelle Griffith, previously praised the companys work in other states and readiness to launch the new system in Pennsylvania. There is just more potential for issues and different things to arise. Three of these programs are part of the federal CARES Act, which expired at the end of 2020. The payout delay does not affect Pennsylvanians receiving payments through the other unemployment program programs. These two programs expired just before the end of December before President Trump signed the measure that extended the programs again in January. Some Pennsylvania Pandemic Unemployment Assistance payments delayed, COMING UP. Its estimated that about 400,000 Pennsylvanians are relying on the PUA benefits. IT'S REALLY TOUGH. No other payment issues have been detected for UC claimants since the Jan. 1 issue.Extended Benefits (EB)L&I has made approximately $230.6 million in EB payments since March 15.EB provides claimants who have exhausted their maximum number of UC and PEUC claim weeks with additional claim weeks. We estimated that approximately 1.1 million people had exhausted these benefits in 2020 and were still out of work in January. You can begin filing for the additional 11 claim weeks today, January 22. - Unresolved:The L&I office said a 'small' number of claimants are continuing to incorrectly see a USCIS code that they have self-identified as a permanent resident instead of a US citizen. Many families struggling to pay their bills amid the coronavirus pandemic are still experiencing delays in unemployment payments and response times from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and . This is money that these workers and their families needed to pay rent, put food on the table, stay out of poverty, and keep Americas economy running while they looked for work. WE'LL PUT THAT ADDRESS FOR YOU AT WTA, Amanda Ewing, of Finleyville, said she hasn't received her unemployment check in nearly three weeks and can't get anyone on the phone to give her a reason. PUA claimants that have filed for the first time in 2021 will be receiving ID Me emails beginning this week and will need to verify their identities before they can proceed. This payment is on top of the other program's payment. The number of claim weeks provided to a claimant varies depending on the claimant's personal situation. There have been 28 million PUA claims in Pennsylvania totaling more than $5 billion in payments since March, according to the department. 15 Best Amazon Clothing Brands Including Closet Staples and Statement Pieces, Memorial Day Sales 2023: The Best Early Memorial Day Deals You Can Shop Now, 45 Best Wedding Gifts That Are Way More Unique Than a Blender, 25 Trendy Amazon Spring Fashion Finds You'll Want in Your Closet ASAP. If you are a new, first-time PUA claimant opening a claim in 2021, you cannot yet file. State officials said people were placed in an online waiting room, which is triggered by a large number of people using the system, though the exact number is unknown. >> IT'S HARD. 2023, Hearst Television Inc. on behalf of WTAE-TV. Throughout the entire month of January she only received one check for $105 dollars. A small percentage of the claimants who filed for UC on Jan. 1 were affected by a glitch that caused them to not receive their payment on time. Sign up for our free newsletters. ), with the first claimants receiving their payments for FPUC on Jan. 12. SUSAN. L&I could not begin paying the claim weeks in the PEUC extension until the federal Department of Labor provided guidance on how the federal program should be enacted by states. Cookie Notice Others were refused benefits because they were incorrectly identified as incarcerated. Workers who receive benefits through direct deposit saw their payment method listed as debit card, which the department called a display issue. Users do not need to take action to fix this, department officials said. "The original CARES Act programs, including Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), expired the end of December 2020. On Tuesday, WGAL spoke to people trying to file and Department of Labor officials about what they're doing. "The bad behavior of these scammers is hurting Pennsylvanians, and we are continuing to work with the Pennsylvania Attorney General, U.S. PUA benefits ceased on September 4, 2021. L&I said it typically receives about 5,000 PUA claims daily. In the legislation, Congress enacted a series of new eligibility rules for the PUA program related to identity, employment verification, and weekly certification.1 In addition, hundreds of thousands of workers who had exhausted PEUC or PUA benefits before December 26, 2020 gained an additional eleven weeks of benefits that they could access if they were still out of work as of January 2, 2020, but they needed time to reapply and verify they were still out of work.