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Joy Olmedo

PA UC Board of Review reversed my denial - how long until payment?

I've been fighting an unemployment denial since February 2025 and FINALLY got some good news today! After my referee hearing denied me (said I quit without cause even though I had documented harassment), I filed with the Board of Review on March 15th. Nothing happened for weeks, but today I used the chat feature and the agent said the Board completely reversed both previous decisions and I'm now eligible for benefits!! But there's nothing on my dashboard yet - no determination letter, no payment date, nothing. The agent just said they're 'processing the payments' and 'finalizing everything'. Has anyone been through this Board of Review reversal process? How much longer am I gonna be waiting to actually see money? I'm seriously down to my last $47 and rent is due next week 😫

First, CONGRATS on winning your appeal! The Board of Review rarely overturns referee decisions so your case must have been solid. In my experience (went through this last year), it took about 10 business days from when they told me about the reversal until money hit my account. They have to recalculate all the back payments and that's apparently a semi-manual process. Keep checking your dashboard daily - you'll first see a new determination letter, then a day or two later you'll start seeing payment dates. Make sure your payment method is set up correctly in the meantime!

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Thank you!! That's so helpful to know. It's been SUCH a stressful process. Did you have to call them again or did it just show up automatically? I'm paranoid something else will go wrong 😬

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same thing happend to me took 3 weeks but i got ALL my backpay at once. was like $7400 make sure ur payment info is right in the system

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Omg 3 more weeks?! I don't know if I can make it that long. But good to know all the backpay comes together. Did they send you any kind of email or notification when it was coming?

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Don't get too excited yet. I had a USCABR (board of review) decision in my favor last year and it STILL took over a month for them to actually release my payments. The PA UC system is designed to wear you down and make you give up. They're hoping you'll just get tired of waiting and go away. You need to call EVERY SINGLE DAY and keep the pressure on them. The agents will lie to you about timelines just to get you off the phone. Welcome to Pennsylvania unemployment - where even when you win, you lose. 😡

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This is unnecessarily negative. While there can be delays, telling someone to call "EVERY SINGLE DAY" is terrible advice that just ties up the phone lines. OP should check their dashboard regularly and follow up once per week if they don't see movement. The PA UC system isn't perfect but it's not some conspiracy to deny benefits either.

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If anything changes on your claim, you should get an email notification. At least they're supposed to send one. Check your spam folder too, sometimes UC emails go there. Also make sure you're still filing your weekly claims even while you're waiting for this to be processed! A lot of people stop filing during appeals and then they have to request those weeks later which is another whole process.

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Oh shoot, I actually did stop filing a few weeks ago because the agent told me it was pointless while the appeal was pending! Should I go back and try to file those now or wait until this is processed?

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You need to keep calling them, but actually getting through to PA Unemployment is nearly impossible these days. I was in a similar situation last month and spent HOURS getting busy signals. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through - they connected me to an agent in about 20 minutes instead of me trying for days. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 Once I got through to someone, I found out they were missing a document they needed to release my payment. Fixed it that day and had money the following week. Definitely worth calling to check if there's anything holding up your payment rather than just waiting.

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I've been debating trying one of those services! I'll check out that link. Did they ask a lot of questions when you called? I'm always nervous I'll say something wrong and mess up my claim again.

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Congratulations on winning your appeal! Here's what should happen next: 1. The Board of Review sends their decision to the Service Center (takes 3-5 business days) 2. Service Center processes the reversal (2-3 business days) 3. You'll see a new determination letter in your dashboard 4. Back payments will be calculated and released 5. You'll receive payment via your preferred method (direct deposit or Money Network card) Total time is typically 10-14 business days from decision to payment. If you don't see a determination letter in your dashboard within 7 business days, I would follow up with them. Regarding the missed weekly certifications: you'll need to file those retroactively once your claim is reactivated. There should be an option in your dashboard to claim those weeks once the new determination is processed.

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Thank you for breaking it down so clearly! This is so helpful. I guess I'll just try to be patient for a couple more weeks. Fingers crossed it doesn't take the full 14 days 🤞

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congrats!! just went thru this myself! make sure your address is up to date in the system becuz they might mail you something important

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Good point! My address is current but I'll double check everything else is updated too. Thanks!

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By the way - be prepared for taxes next year. All that backpay will count as income for 2025 and they don't always withhold enough. I got a big surprise tax bill after my backpay came through. You might want to set aside about 10-15% if you can.

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I didn't even think about the tax implications! Thanks for the heads up. If I ever actually get this money I'll try to save some for taxes 😩

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Congrats on your Board of Review win! That's huge! I went through something similar last fall and it took about 2 weeks from when they told me about the reversal to when I actually saw money. The key thing is to keep filing your weekly certs even while you're waiting - I made that mistake and had to go back and request those weeks later which added another week to the process. Also, when the backpay does come through, it'll likely be broken up into separate deposits for each week you were denied, so don't panic if you don't see one lump sum. Hang in there, you're almost at the finish line! 🤞

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That's really good to know about the separate deposits for each week! I was expecting one big lump sum so I would have definitely panicked if I only saw part of it at first. And thanks for the reminder about filing weekly certs - I actually did stop filing a few weeks ago because an agent told me it was pointless during the appeal, but I see from other comments that was bad advice. I'll start filing again right away. Two weeks doesn't sound too bad compared to some of the horror stories I've heard!

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Just wanted to add another perspective - I had a Board of Review reversal in January and it took exactly 12 business days from the phone call telling me about the decision to money in my account. The most important thing I learned is to screenshot EVERYTHING once payments start showing up in your dashboard. I had one week that initially showed as paid but then disappeared for like 3 days (some kind of system glitch) and having the screenshot helped when I called to ask about it. Also, once you start seeing the payment dates populate, they usually hit your account 1-2 days earlier than the dates shown. You've been through the hardest part - Board of Review reversals are pretty rare so you clearly had a strong case. Good luck and hopefully you'll have some relief soon! 💪

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That's really smart advice about screenshotting everything! I've learned the hard way during this whole process to document absolutely everything because the PA UC system can be so glitchy. I'll definitely start doing that once I see any movement in my dashboard. And it's encouraging to hear that 12 business days seems to be pretty typical - gives me a realistic timeline to work with. Thanks for sharing your experience! 🙏

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Wow, congrats on getting the Board of Review to reverse your case! That's actually pretty rare from what I've seen in this group. I went through a similar situation about 6 months ago (also had a harassment case that the referee initially denied). In my experience, once the Board makes their decision, it took about 8-10 business days for everything to show up in my dashboard. The tricky part is that sometimes the determination letter shows up first, then a few days later you'll see all the payment dates populate at once. One thing that really helped me was calling the customer service line once I hit the 10-day mark just to make sure there weren't any technical holds on my account. Sometimes there are random flags that need to be cleared manually. Also, definitely keep filing your weekly certs if you haven't been! Even though it feels pointless, it makes the whole process smoother once everything gets sorted out. You're so close to the finish line - hang in there! 💪

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