One more important thing to remember: PA UC is required to consider all available evidence, but they also understand that not everything can be documented. The referee's job is to determine the facts based on credibility and preponderance of evidence. Since your hearing is next week, you should prepare a brief statement explaining the situation in clear terms. Practice saying it out loud a few times so you don't ramble during the hearing. Be specific about dates, names, and details even if you don't have documentation for everything. If the restaurant manager is unwilling to provide a statement, you might also consider if there's anyone else who knew about your job offer - perhaps a friend or family member you told about it at the time? While not as strong as employer confirmation, it can help establish that you were consistent about the job offer at the time it happened.

I had a similar situation with a verbal job offer during my appeal last year. Here's what I learned: PA UC referees vary widely in how thoroughly they investigate, but having ANY supporting evidence helps tremendously. Your text messages about scheduling are actually really strong evidence - they show the employer was treating you as a hired employee by discussing your work schedule. One thing that helped me was creating a simple one-page summary with bullet points of what happened, including exact dates and the manager's name. Even though my offer was also verbal, having those specific details written out clearly made me seem more credible during the hearing. Also, don't stress too much about them calling the restaurant. Even if they do, employers usually just confirm basic facts like "yes, we made an offer" and "yes, we had to rescind it due to circumstances." Most restaurants right now are dealing with staffing issues from the recent outbreak, so they're likely to be straightforward about having to cancel new hires. Good luck with your hearing - sounds like you're preparing well!

Just to follow up on this thread - for anyone with PIN issues, there's actually a separate line specifically for PIN resets: 1-888-255-4728. This automated system doesn't usually have wait times. If you've confirmed your PIN isn't the issue and the message center still isn't working, and you need to reach someone urgently, I suggest: 1. Call the main UC line at exactly 7:59am when they first open 2. Try the online chat feature which is sometimes less crowded than the phone lines (but still busy) 3. Consider reaching out to your state representative's office - they often have direct channels to UC for constituent services Persistence is unfortunately key with the current system.

Glad to hear you got it sorted out! PIN expiration catches so many people off guard. For future reference, you can actually set up email reminders in your dashboard settings to notify you 30 days before your PIN expires - might save you some hassle next time. The PA UC system definitely has its quirks but once you know the workarounds it gets a bit easier to navigate.

I had this same issue last year and actually gave up trying to change it after calling for weeks. Just a heads up - you might want to set aside about 10-15% of what you're getting now for taxes. I ended up using TurboTax and there's a specific section for unemployment income where you enter the total from your 1099-G form. It was painful but at least I was prepared for it.

I went through this exact same nightmare! After weeks of trying to call, I finally got through using the callback feature on the PA UC website - you can request a callback instead of waiting on hold. It took about 3 days for them to call me back, but when they did, the agent changed my tax withholding in under 5 minutes. Just a heads up though - they can only change it going forward, so I still had to deal with owing taxes on the first few months of benefits I'd already received. I ended up having to do quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid penalties. The whole system is so frustrating, but at least once you get it changed, you don't have to worry about it anymore!

I'm going through the exact same situation right now! My husband got a job offer in Texas and we moved last month. I filed my PA UC claim about 4 weeks ago and still haven't heard anything beyond the initial confirmation. It's reassuring to hear that others have been approved for spouse relocation, even though the wait times seem really long. I'm a teacher so remote work definitely wasn't an option for me. Has anyone had experience with the fact-finding interview? I'm nervous about what kinds of questions they'll ask and want to be prepared when they finally call.

I went through this same situation in 2023 when my husband got transferred to North Carolina. The waiting is brutal, I know! Mine took about 9 weeks total for the determination. A few tips that helped me: 1) Keep detailed records of every conversation with UC - dates, times, who you spoke to 2) Set up call forwarding to make sure you don't miss their call (they usually call between 9-11am) 3) Have a folder ready with all your docs - spouse's job offer, your resignation letter, lease/mortgage info for new state, marriage certificate. The interview was pretty straightforward - they mainly wanted to confirm the timeline and that you had no choice but to move. Since you're a nurse, emphasize that patient care requires physical presence and remote work wasn't possible. Hang in there, it does eventually work out for legitimate spouse relocations!

Any update on your situation? Did you file the appeal yet? And were you able to get through to someone at the service center to get more details about the denial reason?

That vacation time issue explains a lot! I had a similar problem when I got laid off - HR processed my final day wrong in their system and it looked like I quit. Make sure you keep copies of everything you submit for your records. Also, just a heads up that the hearing referee might ask about your job search efforts during those first 6 weeks even though you weren't getting paid, so have those records ready too. Sounds like you caught this early enough that it should get resolved quickly once you have your hearing. Good luck!