Confused about PA UC weekly claim questions - 'able and available for work' after identity theft

If you're physically capable of working and are actively seeking employment, then you should answer YES to the "able and available" question. This is one of the basic eligibility requirements for receiving UC benefits in Pennsylvania. The question is asking if you're physically/mentally able to work and if you're available to accept work if offered (not on vacation, not limited by transportation issues, etc). It's not asking about your job prospects or the fraud situation. If you answer NO, your weekly benefit will likely be denied because being able and available is a core requirement for eligibility. Just make sure you're also completing your work search activities each week (applying to jobs, networking, etc).

oMG I went thru the EXACT same thing last yr!!! someone filed using my info and I didnt even know til I got laid off and tried 2 file. such a nightmare!!!! for the able and available thing, YES means ur ready to work. NO means ur sick or away or something and cant work right now. they'll deny ur payment if u say NO

make sure you check with the identity theft unit too!! sometimes they put special notes on accounts that had fraud. and yeah "able and available" is asking if you can work RIGHT NOW if someone offered you a job. so YES is what you want if you're able to work. NO is only if you're sick, in the hospital, on vacation, etc.

When I was filing my weekly claims in PA, I always answered YES to the "able and available" question as long as I was physically able to work and available to accept a job if offered one. This is one of the core eligibility requirements for receiving unemployment benefits in any state. Regarding your identity theft situation - make sure you've completed the Identity Theft Affidavit (Form 14039) with the IRS and filed a police report if you haven't already. Also consider placing a credit freeze with the three major credit bureaus. The PA UC system has been implementing stronger identity verification measures through ID.me to prevent fraud, but it's good to take additional precautions. For your weekly claims, just answer honestly. If you're able to work and available to accept work, say YES. If you were sick or unavailable for any day during the week, say NO and be prepared to explain why.

Has anyone else noticed that the PA unemployment system is COMPLETELY BROKEN when it comes to handling fraud cases?? I had a similar situation in January and it took them THREE MONTHS to fix my claim! The worst part is you can never reach anyone on the phone to explain your situation properly. I spent WEEKS trying to get through, constantly getting busy signals or being disconnected after waiting for hours. For the OP - yes, answer "able and available" as YES if you can work. But good luck getting your claim processed quickly after fraud has been involved. The system is a disaster!

When they ask if your "able and available" they want to know can you work RIGHT NOW if someone called with a job. If you say NO, you wont get paid for that week. Just make sure your answering all the other questions right too!!! The one that asks if you refused any work - thats a NO unless you actually turned down a job offer. And the one about did you look for work - thats YES and keep track of where you applied cause they might audit you later!!! I got so confused when i first started filing my weekly claims to lol

Just to add one important point - if your claim is under review because of the previous fraud, your weekly certifications might show as "pending" for a while even if you answer everything correctly. This is normal while they verify your identity and employment history. Keep filing your weekly claims on time even if you're not receiving payments yet. Once they complete the review, you should receive all back payments for the weeks you properly certified. If your claim stays in review status for more than 3 weeks, I'd recommend trying to speak with someone directly to check on the status.

I went through something similar with PA UC after identity theft - it's such a stressful situation! Just wanted to add that when you're filing your weekly claims during the review period, make sure you're also continuing to meet all the other requirements like registering with PA CareerLink if you haven't already. Also, if you have any documentation from when you reported the fraud (confirmation numbers, emails, etc.), keep those handy. Sometimes the agents need to reference them when they're working on your case. The whole process is frustrating but you're doing everything right by continuing to file weekly. Hang in there!

I'm so sorry you're dealing with identity theft on top of losing your job - that's incredibly stressful! I haven't been through the fraud situation myself, but I can definitely help with the "able and available" question since I've been filing PA UC claims for a few months now. You should absolutely answer YES to that question if you're physically and mentally capable of working and available to start a job immediately if offered one. This is basically asking: if an employer called you today with a job offer, could you accept it and start working? If the answer is yes, then you're "able and available." The only time you'd answer NO is if you were sick, injured, on vacation, had transportation issues, or some other barrier that would prevent you from accepting work that week. Answering NO will likely result in your weekly benefit being denied. Don't let the fraud situation make you second-guess the basic eligibility questions - just answer them honestly based on your current work availability. The fraud review is separate from your weekly certifications. Good luck getting everything sorted out!

Hey Ian! I went through a very similar identity theft situation with PA UC about 8 months ago and totally understand your stress about answering the weekly questions correctly. Just to reinforce what everyone else has said - YES is definitely the right answer for "able and available" if you can physically work and would accept a job offer. The fraud situation won't affect how you should answer this basic eligibility question. One thing I learned during my experience: even though your claim is under review, it's super important to keep filing those weekly certifications on time. I made the mistake of skipping a couple weeks thinking "what's the point if I'm not getting paid anyway" and it actually delayed my case even more when they finally got around to processing it. Also, if you haven't already, document everything related to your case - dates you called, reference numbers, names of anyone you spoke with. The PA UC system can be really disorganized with fraud cases and having your own records helps a lot when you need to follow up. The whole process sucks but you're handling it right. Stay consistent with your weekly filings and hopefully they'll get your review completed soon!

Identity theft cases with PA UC can definitely be overwhelming, but you're on the right track! Just wanted to add a couple things that helped me when I was dealing with UC issues: For the "able and available" question - everyone's given you the right answer (YES if you can work), but I also want to mention that PA sometimes asks follow-up questions if you answer NO to any weekly question. So if you accidentally answer wrong one week, don't panic - you usually get a chance to explain. One tip that saved me a lot of stress: set up text alerts through the PA UC system if you haven't already. They'll send you updates about your claim status, payment issues, etc. It's not perfect but at least you get some communication instead of constantly checking the website wondering what's happening. Also, since your claim is brand new and under review, make sure you're keeping records of your job search activities even if they haven't officially told you to start work search yet. Better to have documentation ready than scramble later if they ask for it retroactively. Hope your review gets resolved quickly! The waiting is the worst part but sounds like you're doing everything right.

I'm dealing with a similar identity theft situation right now and this thread has been incredibly helpful! Just wanted to add one more resource that might help - PA has a dedicated fraud hotline (1-888-313-7284) specifically for identity theft cases. When I called, they were able to give me a timeline for my review and confirm that my weekly certifications were being processed correctly even though payments were pending. The wait times are still terrible, but at least it's a direct line to people who understand fraud cases instead of the general UC line where agents sometimes don't know how to handle these situations. Also echoing what everyone said about "able and available" - definitely YES if you can work. The fraud review is completely separate from your weekly eligibility questions. Don't let the stress of the identity theft situation make you overthink the basic requirements! Hang in there - I know how exhausting this whole process is but you're handling it all the right way.

Just wanted to jump in here as someone who's been filing PA UC claims for over a year now - you're absolutely doing the right thing by asking for clarification on these questions! The "able and available" question is pretty straightforward once you understand what they're really asking. Think of it this way: if a potential employer called you right now and offered you a job that matches your skills and availability, could you say "yes, I can start Monday"? If the answer is yes, then you're able and available for work. This means you're not sick, not caring for family members full-time, not on vacation, not in school full-time preventing you from working, etc. The identity theft situation is totally separate from your weekly eligibility - don't let that mess with your head when answering the basic questions. The fraud review team handles that background stuff while you just need to honestly report your work availability each week. One more tip: PA UC sometimes asks if you've been "ready, willing, and able" to work - that's the same thing as "able and available." They just phrase it differently sometimes depending on which system you're using (phone vs online). Good luck getting everything sorted out!

I've been following this thread and wanted to share something that might help with your anxiety about the weekly certifications. When I was going through my own UC issues (not fraud-related, but still stressful), I found it helpful to think of the weekly questions as a simple checklist rather than a test I could fail. The "able and available" question is really just asking: "If someone offered you appropriate work this week, were there any days you couldn't have accepted it?" If you were physically able to work all 7 days and had no barriers preventing you from accepting a job offer, then YES is correct. Don't let the identity theft situation make you second-guess yourself on these basic eligibility questions. The fraud review process runs separately from your weekly certifications, and answering honestly about your work availability won't impact their investigation. You're being so thorough and careful about everything - that's exactly the right approach. Keep filing consistently and documenting everything. The stress will be worth it when you finally get your benefits sorted out!