One more important thing - when you file bi-weekly claims, do it early in the week (Sunday or Monday) if possible. If there are any issues with your answers that require staff review, filing early gives them more time to resolve it before payment processing runs at the end of the week. And be consistent with your answers from week to week unless your situation has actually changed.

Just wanted to add my experience as a newcomer who went through this recently! I'm in the steelworkers union and was terrified about messing up my first bi-weekly claim after reading horror stories online. The advice here is spot on - definitely answer YES to the work search question because your union registration counts as ongoing job search activity. One thing that helped me was calling my union hall before filing my first claim to make sure I understood exactly how our system works. My business agent explained that as long as I'm on the out-of-work list and available when they call with jobs, that satisfies the work search requirement. Also, keep records of when you check in with the hall or update your availability - I write down dates just in case I ever get audited. Better to be over-prepared than sorry! Good luck with your first filing, the process gets much easier once you do it a couple times.

I just wanted to add something that helped me when I won my Board of Review appeal last year - make sure you clearly explain HOW the hour reduction affected you financially, not just that it did. I created a simple budget breakdown showing my monthly expenses ($2,800) versus what I'd make at reduced hours ($1,200/month), which made it crystal clear why I couldn't continue working under those conditions. The Board really responded to seeing the actual dollar amounts rather than just percentages. Also, if you have any medical bills, childcare costs, or other fixed expenses that make the reduced income unworkable, definitely include those details. Your 62.5% reduction is absolutely substantial - I won mine with just a 38% cut - so you have a really strong foundation. The key is showing them you had no reasonable choice but to leave when faced with that dramatic income loss. Good luck with your appeal!

I won my Board of Review appeal after a referee denial about 18 months ago! The referee said my job "restructuring" wasn't grounds for UC, but my case was actually quite similar to yours - they changed my position from full-time salary to part-time hourly which cut my income by about 55%. The Board completely overturned the referee's decision. What really helped was that I organized my appeal around three main points: 1) The legal error the referee made (misapplying the "substantial change" standard), 2) The factual evidence (pay stubs, job descriptions, budget breakdown), and 3) Citing the specific PA UC regulation that supported my case. Your 62.5% hour reduction is absolutely substantial - that's way beyond the threshold. I'd definitely recommend getting that appeal filed before your 15-day deadline. The wait is tough (mine took about 11 weeks) but totally worth it when you win. Don't let one referee's wrong decision discourage you from pursuing what you're legally entitled to!

Isaac, this is such fantastic news! Congratulations on winning your appeal and getting that first batch of payments. Your 11-day timeline is really reassuring for others going through this process. I went through a similar appeal last summer (employer falsely claimed job abandonment when I was actually terminated due to company restructuring) and the waiting period after winning was honestly almost as stressful as the appeal itself. You keep wondering if something will go wrong or if there will be more delays. In my case, I got the payments in three batches over about a week - seemed completely random but they all came through eventually. The total amount was around $6,800 so pretty similar to your situation. One thing that helped my anxiety during the waiting period was calling my bank to give them a heads up about the incoming deposits. Large unemployment payments sometimes trigger fraud alerts that can temporarily freeze your account, which is the last thing you need when you're already stressed about money. Really hope your remaining payments come through quickly! And thanks so much for sharing your timeline - posts like this give people hope when they're in the thick of fighting these cases.

Isaac, congratulations on winning your appeal! That's such a huge weight off your shoulders after 3 months of fighting. Your 11-day timeline gives me hope - I'm currently day 8 after my own favorable appeal decision for a similar misconduct vs layoff situation. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful. The advice about checking the Money Network card separately from bank accounts, setting up text alerts, and documenting everything really stands out. I had no idea about the potential for fraud alerts on large deposits either - definitely calling my bank tomorrow! One thing I'm curious about - did you get any kind of confirmation or tracking number when your first batch processed, or did the money just show up? I'm obsessively checking both my bank account and the UC portal multiple times a day but haven't seen anything yet. Thanks for taking the time to update everyone with your timeline. Posts like this are a lifeline for those of us still waiting and stressing about rent/bills. Really hope your second batch comes through quickly!

my brother had his wage garnished for unemployment overpayment so watch out for that too if u have a job

I'm in a very similar situation - just got hit with a $3,800 PUA overpayment notice from 2021 that I never knew about until last week. I've been reading through all these responses and it's really helpful to see everyone's experiences. From what I'm gathering, it sounds like the key is to act FAST before they process any tax intercepts. I'm going to try calling that overpayment collections number tomorrow morning and also look into that PUA waiver program that Rudy mentioned. Has anyone had success getting through to them early in the morning or is there a better time to call? I've been trying for days with no luck getting through.

This is such an incredibly comprehensive troubleshooting thread! As someone who's been wrestling with the PA UC portal for the past few weeks, I'm bookmarking this entire conversation. The variety of solutions you all have shared is amazing - from the simple Shift+refresh fix to network switching, browser compatibility issues, and even the timing suggestions about accessing during off-peak hours. I've been using Chrome and having intermittent issues, so I'm definitely switching to Firefox based on multiple recommendations here. It's honestly ridiculous that we need to become tech support experts just to access our benefits, but I'm so grateful this community exists to help each other navigate these problems. The fact that Dmitry got his messages working just in time for that ID.me deadline shows how crucial it is to have these workarounds documented. I'm going to try the text alert setup right away too - seems like a much better way to stay on top of important messages than constantly battling the portal. Thank you all for creating such a helpful resource!

I'm so relieved to find this thread! I've been dealing with the exact same message issue for the past 3 days and was starting to panic that I'd miss something important. Reading through everyone's solutions gives me hope that I can actually fix this. I'm going to start with the Shift+refresh method that worked for Dmitry, and if that doesn't work I'll try switching to Firefox and clearing my browser data completely. The tip about accessing during off-peak hours is really smart too - I've been trying to check messages during lunch breaks when the servers are probably overloaded. It's honestly embarrassing that Pennsylvania's unemployment system is this broken, but I'm so grateful for communities like this where people actually help each other instead of just complaining. I'll report back on what ends up working for me in case it helps anyone else who finds this thread in the future!