I was wondering the same thing last month when I got laid off. My claim was approved in 12 days which seemed fast compared to my friend who quit her job. Just make sure you have your final pay stub ready when you file because they asked me questions about it. Also don't forget you need to do the work search every week now. Not like during COVID when they waived that requirement.

Update: My claim was just approved! Only took 8 days from when I filed. Thanks everyone for the advice and guidance. For anyone else in the same situation, the layoff designation definitely seems to speed things up. Now I just need to keep up with the weekly work search requirements!

UPDATE: Just checked Twitter and PA Labor & Industry posted that they're aware of the filing issues and working to resolve them. They said if you can't file by your deadline due to the system errors, they'll accept late filings without penalty once the system is fixed. They expect it to be resolved by tomorrow afternoon.

I'm having the exact same issue! Been trying since Tuesday morning and keep getting that Error 500 right at the final step. So frustrating when you've filled out everything and then it just crashes. I tried the early morning suggestion from @Zachary Hughes today at 6 AM but still got the error. Really hoping they get this fixed soon - I can't afford to miss a payment. Has anyone tried calling the phone filing system as a backup?

Just wanted to add one more thing that helped me when I was in a similar situation - make sure to keep a copy of your severance agreement and any documentation about how it's being paid out (lump sum vs. weekly payments). PA UC may ask for this later to verify your reported amounts. Also, if your company is paying your health insurance during the severance period, that's NOT considered part of your severance payment for UC purposes, so don't include that value when reporting. The distinction between different types of payments can be confusing but it's really important to get it right. Wishing you the best with your claim!

I'm also dealing with this situation and want to thank everyone for sharing their experiences! Just got laid off yesterday with 8 weeks severance and was completely lost about the timing. Reading through all these responses has been so reassuring - especially seeing the specific examples of people still getting $150-180/week during their severance period. That would make a real difference for groceries and utilities while my severance covers the bigger expenses. I was definitely planning to wait until my severance ended, but now I understand that would be a costly mistake. Filing my claim today! One quick question - for those who had success getting through to PA UC for questions, what time of day seemed to work best for calling? I want to have a backup plan in case I need clarification on anything during the process.

update: its working for me now! just checked and the login button works. maybe they fixed whatever was broken

Just wanted to add another tip for anyone still having issues - if you're using any ad blockers or security extensions like uBlock Origin or NoScript, try temporarily disabling them. The Money Network site uses a lot of third-party scripts and sometimes these extensions block the login functionality. I had this exact same problem last month and it turned out my privacy extension was blocking the authentication popup. Also, make sure you're going directly to www.moneynetwork.com and not clicking any links from emails or other sites, as those sometimes redirect to cached or broken pages.

this happened to me last memorial day too! just when u need the money most everything gets delayed lol

For future reference, you can usually check the PA UC website under "Payment Information" to see if there are any scheduled delays posted. They don't always advertise it well, but sometimes they'll put a notice up a few days before major holidays. Also, if you're really tight on funds, some banks will let you set up overdraft protection or a small line of credit to cover situations like this where payments get delayed by a day or two. Might be worth looking into so you don't have to stress about rent being late due to holiday delays.