I think ur gonna be fine because u were laid off and didnt quit. My cousin just got benefits last month and she only worked like 4 months at her job before getting laid off. The lack of work thing is the important part i think

Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact situation about 6 months ago! I was a seasonal landscaper, only worked 14 weeks but made around $18K during that time. Initially got denied for not meeting the 18-week requirement, but I appealed and provided pay stubs showing my high quarterly earnings. Took about 5 weeks total but eventually got approved under the alternative eligibility. The appeals process was actually pretty straightforward - just had to fill out a form explaining my situation and provide wage documentation. Since you already applied and mentioned lack of work as the reason, you're on the right track. Keep all your pay stubs handy just in case you need them for an appeal!

Just want to add for anyone else reading this - when selecting the separation reason, construction workers should look for "Temporary layoff" or "Lack of work" rather than "Laid off" or "Quit." The system treats these differently and it can really affect your claim processing time. Also, if you're union, definitely reach out to your rep - they deal with seasonal UC claims all the time and know exactly what to select. Better to get it right the first time than deal with the phone system later!

I work for a PA workforce development agency and see this issue constantly with construction workers. A few additional tips: 1) If you're filing in winter, PA actually has specific guidance for seasonal construction workers - look for "seasonal unemployment" on their website. 2) When you do get through to fix it, ask the agent to add a note to your file explaining it was seasonal construction work, this can prevent future delays if you need to file again next winter. 3) The wait times are typically worst Monday mornings and after holidays, try calling Tuesday-Thursday mid-morning for better luck. Hope this helps future filers avoid the same headache!

To give you the complete picture, here's the exact PA UC partial benefit calculation: 1. They take 30% of your Weekly Benefit Rate (WBR) as your Partial Benefit Credit (PBC) 2. Subtract your gross earnings from your WBR 3. If the remainder is $5 or more, that's your partial benefit 4. If the remainder is less than $5, you get no benefit that week In your case: - WBR: $605 - PBC: $181.50 (30% of $605) - Earnings: $80 - Since $80 is less than your PBC, you get your full WBR of $605 One more important thing - when you start your job on December 2nd, make sure to report that you've returned to full-time work on your last weekly certification. This closes your claim properly.

Congratulations on landing the new job! Just wanted to add one more tip from my experience - make sure to keep documentation of that $80 payment (pay stub, direct deposit record, etc.) in case PA UC ever audits your claim later. I had to provide proof of earnings from 8 months prior when they did a random review of my case. Also, since you mentioned budgeting for the transition week, remember that your unemployment payment might come a day or two later than usual if their system flags the earnings report for manual review (even though it shouldn't affect your benefit amount). Better to plan for a slight delay just in case!

I just went through this exact same thing! My claim was stuck at step 3 for almost 3 weeks and I was panicking because I had never dealt with unemployment before. What helped me was calling the UC service center early in the morning like others mentioned - I got through on my second try at 8:15am. The agent explained that step 3 is where they verify your wages and employment history, and sometimes it just takes time for employers to respond to their requests. She also confirmed that as long as you keep filing your weekly certifications, you'll get backpay for all eligible weeks once it's approved. My claim finally moved to step 4 last week and got fully approved two days later. Hang in there - the waiting is awful but it usually works out in the end!

I'm going through something similar right now - filed my claim about 2 weeks ago and it's been sitting at step 3 this whole time. Reading through everyone's experiences here is really helpful because the PA UC website doesn't explain what each step actually means. I've been filing my weekly claims like you all suggested, even though it feels weird doing it while the main claim is still "in progress." One thing I noticed is that when I log in to do the weekly certification, it asks about work search activities, so I've been keeping track of all my job applications just in case. Has anyone had issues with the work search requirement during this waiting period? I want to make sure I'm covering all my bases while waiting for step 3 to finally move forward.

I'm dealing with the same issue! My card was working fine on Monday but got declined at three different places today. Really glad to see the update about the system-wide outage - I was starting to panic thinking my account got frozen or something. Does anyone know if we can still check our balance online during this outage, or is that affected too? I need to know if my weekly payment actually went through before I stress about missing rent money.

Same here! My card got declined at the grocery store this afternoon and I was so confused because I just got my payment yesterday. Really relieved to hear it's a system-wide issue and not something wrong with my specific account. Has anyone heard any timeline on when they expect to have this fixed? I have bills due this week and really need access to my funds.