Just wanted to add something important that might help others in similar situations - make sure to keep detailed records of your furlough dates and any communication from your employer about the return dates. I learned this the hard way when I had a temporary layoff situation. Having documentation can really help if there are any questions or issues with your claim later. Also, if your company does this type of scheduled furlough regularly, it might be worth asking HR if they have any specific guidance or a contact person at UC who handles their claims. Some larger employers have established relationships that can make the process smoother. Good luck with everything!

One thing I wanted to add that I don't think has been mentioned yet - when you file for your second furlough week in March, make sure you indicate on the claim that you've already served your waiting week earlier in the benefit year (February). Sometimes the system doesn't automatically recognize this and you might need to clarify it when filing. Also, keep your confirmation numbers from both filings - if there are any payment delays or issues with the March week, having both confirmation numbers will help customer service track your claim history more easily. The UC system can be glitchy sometimes, so having all your documentation ready makes troubleshooting much faster if needed!

my cousin works for the unemployment office and she says your almost definitely gonna win this. employers pull this crap all the time at the end of claims to scare people. they know theyre gonna lose but they hope u miss the hearing or something so they win by default. DONT MISS THE HEARING WHATEVER U DO!!!

This sounds like a last-ditch effort by your employer to avoid paying their share of UC taxes. The timing is super suspicious - waiting 21 weeks when they had 15 days to appeal initially. I've seen this before where employers suddenly "remember" to challenge benefits right before they end, hoping people will just give up or not show up to the hearing. Since you have written proof from the county that their case is closed, you're in a really strong position. The burden of proof is on THEM to show why they waited so long and to provide evidence for their claims. Your documentation directly contradicts their appeal, so unless they have something new (which it sounds like they don't), this should be pretty straightforward. Even if the worst happened and you lost, the overpayment would likely be classified as non-fault since you were truthful in your application. But honestly, with that county letter in hand, I'd be shocked if you didn't win this. Stay calm, bring your evidence, and let them try to explain their 5-month delay to the referee.

I went through something similar about 6 months ago! I was 2 weeks late with my workforce registration due to a car accident and hospitalization. The disqualified weeks DID get converted to payment dates, but it took some persistence. Here's what worked for me: I called first thing in the morning (8 AM sharp) and got through after about 45 minutes on hold. The rep was understanding once I explained the situation and had my hospital records ready. She filed something called a "good cause determination" and told me to check back in 7-10 business days. Sure enough, about 8 days later all my disqualified weeks flipped to showing payment dates and I got the back payments within another week. The key was having documentation ready and being polite but persistent with the rep. Don't panic - 3 weeks late isn't automatically disqualifying if you have legitimate documentation of your family emergency. Just make sure you keep filing your weekly claims in the meantime!

I'm in almost the exact same boat! I was about 2.5 weeks late completing my workforce registration because of a family crisis (had to travel out of state unexpectedly). My weeks are showing as disqualified and I've been so stressed about it. Reading through all these responses is actually giving me some hope though - it sounds like there's definitely a path to getting this fixed if you have documentation and can get through to the right person. I'm planning to try calling tomorrow morning at 8 AM sharp like Sean suggested, and I'll have all my documentation ready. If that doesn't work I might try that Claimyr service Omar mentioned since I really need to talk to someone who can actually help rather than just getting busy signals all day. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this is such a stressful situation but it helps knowing I'm not alone in dealing with this!

Wow, what a rollercoaster! I'm so relieved your dad finally got this resolved. This is exactly why I tell people to document EVERYTHING when they're laid off - get that pink slip, termination letter, whatever proves it wasn't voluntary. Employers sometimes try to contest claims to keep their unemployment insurance rates down, even when it's clearly a mass layoff situation. The fact that the entire factory closed should have made this a slam dunk case from the beginning. Glad you stuck with it and found a way through the system!

This is such a perfect example of why PA's unemployment system needs major reform. Three months without payment for a clear-cut factory closure case is absolutely unacceptable. I'm glad Connor was persistent and found a solution, but the fact that people need to resort to third-party services just to talk to a human being at their own state agency is ridiculous. My neighbor went through something similar last year - also had an employer dispute that took forever to resolve. The lack of communication from UC about what's holding up claims is the worst part. People are losing their homes while waiting for money they're legally entitled to. Thanks for sharing your experience Connor - it'll definitely help others going through the same nightmare.

I've been on UC for about 8 months now and can totally relate to the anxiety around deposit timing! What I've learned is that PA's system processes payments in waves, and your payment can end up in different waves from week to week depending on various factors. I actually started keeping a simple log of when my payments hit each week - it's helped me realize there's usually only a 12-24 hour window of variation, which isn't as scary as it feels in the moment. The most important thing is what others have said - check your UC dashboard to confirm "payment issued" status first. If that shows up, you're golden, just gotta wait for the banking side to catch up. The worst part is definitely that Tuesday morning anxiety when you're expecting it and it's not there yet!

I've been dealing with ReliaCard deposits for about 3 months now and I've noticed they can be pretty unpredictable timing-wise. What really helped me was setting up text alerts through the ReliaCard app so I get notified as soon as the deposit hits instead of constantly checking my balance. That way I'm not sitting there refreshing the app every hour on Tuesday morning! The alerts usually come through within a few minutes of the actual deposit. It's saved me so much stress and anxiety. You can set it up in the app under notifications - just make sure to enable deposit alerts specifically.