Cookie Notice "Department of Labor links for claimants Important Updates and News about the PUA Program Federal CARES Act Important L&I Updates Related to COVID-19 Report Unemployment Fraud and Identity Theft 2020 Tax Forms for Claimants, 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. Quote this bill is not about responding to Covid. This article and all of our journalism are available to you at no cost thanks to our supporters. Sign up for daily emails with local updates and other important news. The phone outage was unrelated to the new unemployment system and affected several state agencies, according to the department. The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. You will be able to file for the weeks of January 2; 9; 16; and 23. The expiration, however, caused a delay in issuing money for weeks. Claimants who exhaust their 26 weeks of payments roll over to the PEUC program, and then the EB program. FPUC provides an additional $300 to claimants each week they receive at least $1 in benefits from the UC, EB, PEUC or PUA programs. PUA is a special unemployment program created by the federal coronavirus relief bill to assist claimants who are not typically eligible for Unemployment Compensation, such as freelancers, gig workers, and business owners. L&I began working on upgrading its computer system to accommodate changes made by the coronavirus relief bill extension and has completed upgrades to allow claimants who had weeks remaining on their 13 allotted weeks to begin filing for these claim weeks on Jan. 15. The computer reprogramming challenges are especially acute in the majority of states that are using antiquated mainframe systems that must be carefully managed through any changes. BUT THEY SAY THEY ARE NOW ISSUING PAYMENTS. While people would not be paid right away, they will be able to certify and get paid for all weeks they are unemployed,. However, she was able to finally get through on the phone lines and obtain the payments. "The bad behavior of these scammers is hurting Pennsylvanians, and we are continuing to work with the Pennsylvania Attorney General, U.S. "We are making really good progress on that issue and hope to have it resolved shortly," said Berrier. A place for your unemployment insurance questions. 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 . FOX43 asked Willis to provide her advice to people who are also struggling to receive their checks. REPORTER: EWING IS NOT OPTIMISTIC BUT SHE IS DETERMINED. Table 1 estimates how much would have been paid out if benefits had not been interrupted by the delay in enacting the stimulus bill, using the claims levels on December 26. 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. The good news is that payouts are starting to catch up, reaching nearly $9 billion in the fourth week of January, even though they are clearly still not reaching all that are eligible. Our readers keep us independent, beholden to no outside influence, and accessible to everyone whether they can afford to pay for news, or not. L&I rectified the issue and reissued the payments to claimants a few days later. L&I apologizes to these claimants for the inconvenience of the delayed payments. Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry to resume unemployment payments for PUA program, TOM: PANDEMIC UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE TYPICALLY GOES TO PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT USUALLY ELIGIBLE FOR UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS. When she tried again later, she was told the new username and password she had just created were incorrect. Based on the addition of the $300 per week for all claimants, the combined UI program should have been paying out $11.6 billion per week in January. As soon as we are satisfied they are not (fraudulent claims), those dollars will be released, Oleksiak said. AND MENTALLY THIS WHOLE PANDEMIC -- IT JUST CRUSHES YOU. Attorneys, and other state and federal agencies to identify those responsible, L&I Secretary Jerry Oleksiak said. This may result in a brief delay in your payments. The program is unaffected by the federal coronavirus relief bill.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. The program previously provided $600 in additional weekly compensation but was initially eliminated when the federal government failed to extend it in summer, and then cut in half to $300 and reinstated when the federal government agreed on the coronavirus relief bill extension.L&I began issuing payments on Jan. 8 after receiving the necessary guidance from the federal Department of Labor. The Unemployment Compensation Benefits Modernization system was scheduled to launch next month. accountability journalism every Thursday, plus a weekly Get the latest updates and information about the unemployment compensation (UC) system. Custody Proceedings - Representing Yourself, Divorce Proceedings - Representing Yourself, Get the latest news items of interest to the legal aid community and it's clients on PALegalAid.Net, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), Waiver Request - http://philalegal.org/waiver, Waiver of Benefit Overpayment - PUA, PEUC or FPUC. PUA Payment Delay? 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. Mine is usually here by now, so Im freaking out a little, so please let me know guys! EB is a state program that is triggered on when the unemployment rate reaches a certain threshold. Cookie Notice In general, two states quickly delivered the additional $300 FPUC payments, first for those who were on underlying state benefitsincluding Extended Benefits (EB)that had not been interrupted by the December 26 deadline. PUA-related FPUC benefits: Your card will be funded when your state agency has approved your PUA payment. Please be patient while we work quickly to resolve your issue. Claimants of other unemployment compensation programs run by L&I are also not affected. Will you get the third stimulus check? Claimants of other unemployment compensation programs run by L&I are also not affected.L&I said it typically receives about 5,000 PUA claims daily. 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. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, there are several reasons for the delay, depending on the situation. Acting Labor Secretary Jennifer Berrier could not say exactly how many people must be using the system for the waiting room function to launch. Extension of PUA and PEUC will resume for nearly 19 million Americans, including more than 500,000 Pennsylvanians. Wednesday payments will be available Thursday, March 11. Its technology has a poor track record in Pennsylvania and in other states. Nadia Warrick, a former facilities director from Feasterville, said she couldnt log into the new system Tuesday to file for this weeks benefits. Everyone deserves access to the facts. 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. Some states, such as Minnesota, North Carolina, and Maryland, were able to swiftly implement the changes and continue PUA and PEUC, as well as begin FPUC benefits within the first week the newly extended program was up and running. Nonetheless, the pause in pandemic benefits undoubtedly added to financial stress of those left behind in the COVID-19 recovery. Tags: unemployment benefits, us economy, covid-19. 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 ? Example video title will go here for this video, Ready, Set, Grow | Early Spring Planting Tips. Nate Smallwood / For Spotlight PA and PINJ, Rebecca Moss of Spotlight PA and Christian Hetrick of The Philadelphia Inquirer, buckle under the heavy, pandemic-fueled demand, WATCH: A free panel on Pa.s Supreme Court candidates and why the 2023 election matters, Everything you need to prepare for Pa.s 2023 election, Determining if someone is mentally fit for trial in Pa. often traps them in the place making them worse jail, by Danielle Ohl of Spotlight PA and Brittany Hailer of The Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism, How anxiety came to dominate the big business of medical marijuana cards in Pennsylvania. 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. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, there are several reasons for the delay, depending on the situation. The additional $300 in unemployment benefits being paid in Pennsylvania are set to expire this weekend. More than 300,000 people are in a backlog waiting for their state and federal claims to be reviewed and paid out or denied. In January, following a new federal funding package, it took the state and GSI weeks to set up new rules associated with federal benefits. If the waiver is granted, then your overpayment is forgiven. 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. States awaited guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor on the key parameters left to interpretation in the law. On Tuesday, WGAL spoke to people trying to file and Department of Labor officials about what they're doing. and our It could amount to a two-week delay that hits mostly gig workers and long-term unemployed. Gennifer Spangler, a former warehouse manager for an online craft supply store, said logging in and filing a claim was super easy. She said the new system was more user-friendly, with a dashboard that made it easy to find and update information. For example, 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. 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. You would exclude the first $10,200, and pay tax only on the remaining $2,000. WE NEED THAT. First-time PUA applicants have been in benefits limbo since Sept. 17 when the department noticed the unusual uptick in claims. IT'S REALLY TOUGH. Attorneys, and other state and federal agencies to identify those responsible, L&I Secretary Jerry Oleksiak said.Pennsylvanians who believe their identity was stolen and used to fraudulently apply for unemployment benefits can report the theft online.L&I said people who have received unemployment benefits they did not apply for should not use the funds and instead return them. And a new password requirement, a problem advocates had foreseen weeks ago and raised with state officials, blocked many people from entering the system at all. Willis said she downloaded an 'auto dialer' app to help her break through the phone lines. The duplicate payments totaled $280 million. Instructions on how to return the money are available at the Office of Unemployment compensation website. The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) provided up to 79 weeks of unemployment benefits to individuals not eligible for regular unemployment compensation or extended benefits due to COVID-19. BUT WE JUST CAN'T GIVE UP. These two programs expired just before the end of December before President Trump signed the measure that extended the programs again in January. PUA beneficiaries approved for payment before Sept. 17 also are not impacted. THE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY IS PUTTING ADDITIONAL ANTI-FRAUD AND IDENTIFICATION VERIFICATION MEASURES IN PLACE. Several workers on Facebook reported other problems, such as jobless claims that were wrongly identified as inactive. Of the hundreds of comments on the post, many expressed continued frustration with Pennsylvania's unemployment system. They absolutely shouldnt have done this right now with the amount of people that are claiming still, she said. Some Pennsylvania Pandemic Unemployment Assistance payments delayed, COMING UP. L&I began working on upgrading its computer system to accommodate changes made by the coronavirus relief bill extension and has completed upgrades to allow claimants who had weeks remaining on their 13 allotted weeks to begin filing for these claim weeks on Jan. 15. The top three reasons for delays beyond 21 days: issues regarding deductible income, employment status or concerns over an employee voluntarily quitting a job, Oleksiak explained. L&I has made approximately $6.6 billion in UC payments since March 15 (the start of the pandemic). Thanks to our supporters weekly get the latest updates and information about the unemployment compensation programs run l. For the waiting room function to launch next month may result in a brief delay in your.! For daily emails with local updates and other important news only on phone... People must be using the system for the delay, depending on the remaining $.... Who are also not affected billion in UC payments since March 15 ( start! 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