Employer lied about termination after 9 weeks - PA UC claim stuck for 11 weeks with no decision

This is unfortunately pretty common with PA UC right now. When employers contest claims with different information than what you provided, it creates an 'open issue' that requires manual review by an examiner. With the current backlog, these reviews can take 10-14 weeks on average. For Allentown specifically, you'll want to contact either Rep. Peter Schweyer (610-791-6270) or Rep. Joshua Siegel (610-821-5577) depending on which district you're in. Email them a concise summary of your situation with your claim number and contact info. They can often get UC to prioritize your claim review. In the meantime, make sure you're still filing your weekly claims even though you're not getting paid! If your claim is eventually approved, you'll get all the back payments at once.

Omg the EXACT same thing happened to me!!! My boss said I was fired for "misconduct" when really they eliminated my position to cut costs (I have texts proving it). It took 13 WEEKS before a UC examiner finally called me for a phone interview. They ruled in my favor literally the next day and I got ALL my back payments that same week. Keep filing those weekly claims!!! And def contact your state rep - mine helped push my case to the front of the line after I waited 10 weeks.

Have you tried using Claimyr to get through to PA UC? After waiting 6 weeks with an open issue on my claim, I was desperate to talk to someone. I used this service at claimyr.com and they got me connected to a UC rep in about 30 minutes instead of spending hours redialing. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 The UC agent I spoke with was able to see that my employer had submitted conflicting information and marked my claim for expedited review. Got my determination letter a week later and payments started right after that. Might be worth a try while you're also reaching out to your state rep.

THE WHOLE PA UC SYSTEM IS A JOKE!!! They let employers get away with BLATANT LIES while we struggle to pay bills. Last year my employer claimed I quit when I was 100% laid off with 20 other people. Took SIXTEEN WEEKS to get a determination and I almost lost my apartment waiting. The state reps are hit or miss - some will help, others just send a form email saying "we'll look into it" and you never hear back. TRY THEM ALL! Email every rep in your county, not just your district. Someone will eventually help. The squeaky wheel gets the grease with these people!!!

hey just wonderin, did u have to do job searchs while waitin for ur money? my bf is in a similar situation but he's confused if he needs to be applying for jobs during this limbo period

I went through something like this in December. After 8 weeks of waiting I contacted my state rep (I'm in Philly though) and magically got my determination letter about 10 days later. I think they just contact UC and say "hey what's going on with this claim" and suddenly UC remembers you exist lol. Also make sure you're checking your dashboard AND your regular mail. For some reason PA UC sent my determination letter by postal mail even though everything else was on the portal. Almost missed it because it looked like junk mail!

One more thing - since you mentioned CareerLink and going back to school, make sure you're enrolled in a PA CareerLink-approved training program. If you are, you can apply for Training Unemployment Benefits (TUB) which allows you to receive benefits while in approved training without having to do the weekly work search requirements. This requires submitting form UC-1599, but can be very helpful if you're planning to do schooling full-time. Talk to your CareerLink advisor specifically about this program - not all staff are familiar with it.

i had 2 wait 14 weeks last year when my boss said i was fired 4 attendance but i had approved FMLA leave!!! called my state rep after week 10 and got paid 2 weeks later. wish i had done it sooner!!!! they can definitely help speed things up

Just remembered something important - if you do finally get through to PA UC, ask them specifically what "issue code" is holding up your claim. Each type of issue has a different resolution process and timeline. If it's an "employer protest" those take forever, but if it's something simple like an "identity verification" it might be resolvable on the same call. Knowing the exact issue code gives you more power.