PA UC Appeal decision taking 50+ days after employer no-show - excessive wait time normal?

Unfortunately this is becoming common. My appeal decision took 63 days to come through after my hearing, and that was with my employer participating! The referee told me it should take 2-3 weeks max. When I finally got hold of someone at UC, they said they're severely backlogged with appeals and working through them in order received. Keep checking your dashboard daily and watch for mail. Eventually it should show under 'Decisions' in your portal. If you can prove financial hardship, sometimes that helps expedite things - try faxing a hardship letter to the appeals office where your hearing was held.

same thing here waiting 45 days after hearing and nothing employer didnt show and i had proof they fired me for something i didnt even do... this whole system is bs

While the PA UC guidelines state decisions should be issued within 14-21 days after an appeal hearing, the reality is quite different right now. There's currently a massive backlog in the appeals office that's causing delays of 45-60+ days, especially in cases involving separation issues and PTO disputes. Three things you should do right now: 1. Submit a 'Status Request' through your dashboard under the Appeals section 2. Call the UC Service Center early morning (right at 8am) and specifically ask for a 'Decision Status Inquiry' for your appeal 3. Document all your attempts to follow up (dates/times/reference numbers) The fact that your employer was a no-show typically works in your favor, but it doesn't speed up the processing time. Appeals are generally processed in chronological order by date of hearing, not by complexity or merit of the case.

Have you tried using Claimyr to get through to an actual PA UC agent? I was in a similar situation (waiting 40+ days after appeal hearing) and was going crazy with the constant busy signals. I found this service at claimyr.com that got me connected to an actual UC rep in about 20 minutes instead of spending hours redialing. The agent was able to check on my appeal status and give me more info than the website showed. They even have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 Calling directly and speaking to someone helped me understand exactly where my case was in the queue, and the agent noted my financial hardship in the system.

It worked for me! Got connected to an actual person who could see notes in my file I couldn't see online. Apparently my appeal was sitting in some review queue that wasn't visible on my dashboard.

i waited 58 days for my decision but i eventually got it and was approved... the stupid thing is they backdate the payments so its like why even make us wait so long if there just gonna pay us from the original date anyway??? makes no sense

Quick update on appeal timelines - I just checked with a contact at the appeals office, and they confirmed they're currently processing appeals from early January hearings, so yours should be coming up soon in the queue. The system is moving, just very slowly. One thing to verify: check your mail carefully. Sometimes they send the decision by mail first before it shows up in the portal. And occasionally important notices get lost or misdelivered. If you haven't already, set up USPS Informed Delivery so you can see what mail is coming to you each day.

did u get ur payment yet? im still waiting on mine

UPDATE: Finally got through to someone at UC this morning! Used that Claimyr service someone mentioned above and it actually worked - got me past the busy signals. The agent confirmed my appeal is "in final review" and should be decided within the next 7-10 days. She also added a hardship note to my file which might help speed things up. They said decisions from January hearings are being processed now, so the timing lines up with what others mentioned. Feeling slightly more hopeful now that I at least know where I stand!