PA UC Board of Review appeal waiting time - 2+ months with no decision?

I won my Board of Review appeal last year after waiting about 3 months. The Board moves incredibly slowly compared to the referee level. My experience was that there's literally nothing you can do to speed up the process - you just have to wait it out. When they finally made a decision, I got a letter in the mail before the portal updated.

the board took 11 weeks for me then denied me anyway...system is rigged imho

I'm in the same boat! Filed my Board appeal in January and still waiting. So frustrating not knowing what's happening. I check the portal every day and nothing changes.

The UC Board of Review is absolutely swamped right now. I won my appeal after waiting almost 14 weeks. From what I understand, they're prioritizing cases based on filing date and complexity. If your case involves multiple issues or witnesses, it takes longer. One thing that helped me was using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a UC agent by phone. While they couldn't speed up my Board appeal directly, the agent was able to verify that my appeal was in the system and give me an estimate on timeline. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2. At least it gave me peace of mind knowing my appeal wasn't lost.

I WON my Board appeal after waiting almost 4 months!!! It was the WORST waiting experience ever. Couldn't get anyone on the phone, couldn't get updates, nothing. Just radio silence. Then one day a letter showed up saying they reversed the referee decision. Two weeks after that I got a HUGE backpay deposit for all the weeks I'd been waiting. The thing most people don't realize is the Board almost NEVER considers new evidence - they just review what was presented at the referee hearing to see if the referee applied the law correctly. So if you think the referee misapplied the law to your situation, you have a shot. If you're just unhappy with the outcome or want to present new evidence, it's usually a waste of time.

To answer your original question: Board of Review appeals are typically taking 10-16 weeks right now based on what I've observed. They review cases in largely chronological order, though sometimes they'll expedite clear-cut cases. It's important to understand that the Board only reviews the record from the referee hearing - they don't collect new evidence. They're looking at whether the referee applied the law correctly to the facts presented. They can affirm the referee decision, reverse it, or remand it back for a new hearing if they find procedural issues. If your case is approaching the 12-week mark, you can request a status update in writing, which sometimes helps get your case reviewed sooner. Include your appeal filing date and docket number in any correspondence.

my neighbor said her appeal took 5 months last year and eventually she just gave up and found a new job. whole system is broken tbh

To answer your follow-up question, you can send written status requests to: Unemployment Compensation Board of Review ATTN: Appeals Information 651 Boas Street, Room 1116 Harrisburg, PA 17121 Include your full name, last 4 of SSN, and appeal docket number. You can also try UCBRCommunications@pa.gov but they're less responsive by email in my experience. One more thing - if your financial situation is dire while waiting, remember you can apply for other assistance programs like SNAP benefits or emergency rental assistance. They won't hold your pending UC appeal against you for eligibility.

my board appeal took 15 weeks last year but i did win! totally worth the wait because i got like $6300 in backpay all at once. i actually printed out the entire law section that applied to my case and highlighted the parts that showed the referee was wrong and included that with my appeal. dont know if that actually helped but i won lol

I'm currently waiting on my Board of Review appeal too - filed in late February and it's been about 6 weeks with no updates. Reading everyone's experiences here is both reassuring and terrifying at the same time! It sounds like 10-16 weeks is the norm, which means I've got a while to go still. I'm curious - for those who won their appeals, did you feel confident about your case going in? My referee hearing felt like it could have gone either way, and I'm trying to gauge whether it's worth the mental stress of waiting or if I should just focus on finding work and move on. The financial strain is real but the uncertainty might be worse than just accepting the loss. Also @Connor Gallagher thanks for mentioning the other assistance programs - I hadn't thought about applying for those while my appeal is pending.

I'm in almost the exact same situation - filed my Board appeal in early February after losing my referee hearing and I'm going on 7 weeks now with zero communication. The silence is honestly worse than getting bad news would be at this point! Reading through everyone's experiences here is giving me some hope though. It sounds like 10-16 weeks is pretty standard, which means I'm not even halfway through the typical wait time yet. The stories of people getting substantial backpay after months of waiting are keeping me motivated to stick it out. One thing I learned from my referee hearing is that I should have been more prepared with the specific UC law sections that applied to my case. If I had to do it over again, I would have cited the exact statutes like @Yara Khoury mentioned doing. For anyone else going through this - document everything and know the law inside and out before your referee hearing, because the Board review is basically your last shot and they only look at what was already presented. Hang in there @GalacticGuardian - sounds like we're all in this waiting game together!