my brother went through something like this last year and it was a NIGHTMARE. he ended up moving back with our parents because he couldn't work and couldn't get benefits. the whole system is broken for people who fall in between programs.

Based on your situation, I believe your best approach is to: 1. Document your medical restrictions clearly 2. Request formal accommodations from your employer (in writing!) 3. If they refuse reasonable accommodations and you must leave, apply for UC 4. Be very specific that you were willing to continue working with accommodations 5. Highlight the types of work you CAN still do despite restrictions PA UC does sometimes approve benefits for people who had to leave work due to medical reasons, especially if the employer refused reasonable accommodations. The key is documentation and being clear that you're still able and available for suitable work within your restrictions. If you're denied, appeal immediately and consider getting legal assistance - many initial denials get overturned on appeal.

i always keep an extra week of money saved just for this reason. holidays always mess up payments.

Thanks everyone for the information! I'm going to file early Sunday morning and make sure all my work search requirements are perfect. I'll also talk to my landlord to see if I can get a few days extension just in case the payment is delayed. Really appreciate all the advice!

I work as an advocate helping people with PA UC issues. This PDF problem has affected many claimants recently. Here's what's actually happening: The UC system generates secure PDFs that expire after a certain time period (usually 14 days). If you're trying to access older messages, the links may have expired. For current documents that should be accessible, there's a known issue with their secure document server. Your best options are: 1. Call the UC service center and specifically ask them to re-generate the documents with new links 2. Request they note in your file that you were unable to access the documents (important for protecting your appeal rights) 3. Ask for the documents to be sent to the email address on file as direct attachments 4. If it's about an appeal hearing, call the UC Appeals office directly at their separate number (not the main UC number) which is 717-787-5122 Don't worry about missing deadlines if you can document that you made reasonable efforts to access the information. PA law provides for "good cause" exceptions when system issues prevent access.

UPDATE: I finally got this resolved! After trying everything suggested here with no luck, I ended up using Claimyr to get through to an actual person at UC. The agent confirmed there's a system-wide issue with their secure PDFs right now affecting many users. The solution: She emailed the documents directly to my personal email as regular PDF attachments (not through their system). I was able to open these with no problem. Turns out my appeal hearing is scheduled for next week - would have completely missed it without this help! For anyone else facing this issue - either keep calling until you get through or use a service to connect faster. Make sure they note in your file that you couldn't access the original documents in case there are any questions about deadlines later.

did u try calling in the afternoon? i read somewhere that they get less calls after 2pm. thats how i finally got thru

FINAL UPDATE: I finally got my interview scheduled for next week! After reading the advice here, I both sent a hardship message AND contacted my state representative's office. Not sure which one worked (maybe both?), but someone from the rep's office called me yesterday saying they'd contacted UC on my behalf, and this morning I got an email with my interview date. It's still a week away, but at least there's movement! Thanks everyone for your help - I'll post again after the interview to let you know how it went.

My cousin had this happen last month and when she won they told her 5-7 days but it took 11. Something about appeals having to go through a special payment process. I think regular UC payments are faster than appeal backpay in PA.

FINAL UPDATE: Money hit my card today! Total of 5 business days after winning the appeal. All the backpay came at once. Such a relief after weeks of stress. Thanks everyone for your help!

def agree with everyone saying JUST APPLY!! let them tell u no instead of assuming. and when you call make sure to ask specifically about any special programs for self-employed ppl. sometimes the first person u talk to doesnt know everything

Tell ur friend to look into CareerLink services too if he's in PA. When I got denied UC they referred me there and I got help with job training and resume stuff. Not cash benefits but at least something.

make sure you check your payment method on your dashboard! my friend won her appeal but her payments were going to an old debit card she didn't have anymore and she had to call to update it which took forever

Quick update - I just received all my back payments today! Exactly 9 business days after my hearing. My claim status updated to "Active" on day 7, and the money hit my account 2 days later. All 18 weeks paid at once. Such a relief!

my friend works at the unemployment office and she said they're super backed up right now because of seasonal construction layoffs. they get thousands of new claims in march when projects don't start back up on schedule and it slows everything down. but she said if u got your confirmation number ur fine

UPDATE: My status just changed to 'payment in process' this morning! Should hit my Money Network card tomorrow according to the portal. Thanks everyone for the reassurance (and the panic lol). I'll definitely try to be more patient next time, but also not wait too long if there seems to be a real problem.

i had a tax agent review my claim last month. called that claimyr service someone mention earlier cuz i was desperate. the pa uc agent told me that the TAX agent only works certain days of the week on certain claims!!!! they dont even work on our claims everyday! thats why it takes so long. such BS but at least i finally knew why it was taking 4ever

Quick update based on your responses: Since you confirmed it's officially a legislative claim, make sure to use that reference number every time you call. Also, the financial hardship request is your best option right now. Since you're at 2.5 weeks, you're almost at the point where supervisors start reviewing stuck claims. Tax agents typically have 21 business days to complete reviews before it flags for supervisor attention. Keep documenting all your call attempts too - this can be useful if you need to file a formal complaint later.

Just went thru this!! Make sure you're on time for the call and in a quiet place with good reception. The referee will ask questions to both you and the employer, so have your answers ready but keep them short and to the point. Don't ramble or get emotional (I made that mistake lol). If the company's HR person says anything that contradicts your termination letter, politely point that out when it's your turn to speak again.

One more thing to consider: start documenting your job search efforts EXTENSIVELY if you haven't already. Even if you win this appeal, your claim will be under scrutiny, and they might check your work search activities more carefully. Make sure you're completing and documenting your required work search activities every week (generally applying to at least 2 jobs and completing 1 other work search activity). This won't affect the current appeal but could prevent future issues with your claim.