PA UC appeal sent to Cambria County referee - waiting over a month with no hearing date

My appeal through Cambria County took about 7 weeks before I got a hearing date, and then the actual hearing was scheduled for 2 weeks after that. So about 9 weeks total from when the appeal was filed. This was just a few months ago. Unfortunately, the appeals office is severely backlogged right now, especially in certain counties. The good news is that if you win, you'll get all your back payments at once.

Mine took 12 WEEKS before I even got a date!!! And I was checking my mail every single day like a crazy person. The system is completely broken. Don't expect anything to happen quickly with PA unemployment. They do not care about us at all.

I had an appeal last year (different county though) and it took about 6 weeks to get a hearing date. One thing that might help - I was able to reach a UC representative by phone who could at least confirm my appeal was in the system and hadn't been lost. They couldn't give me a date, but it was reassuring to know it was actually being processed. I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a real person after days of busy signals. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZWG3KiHrg2. Definitely worth it when you're stressed about waiting on thousands of dollars in benefits!

Hi there, I work in HR and deal with UC appeals regularly. The current average wait time for appeal hearings is about 6-8 weeks in most counties, but Cambria County is particularly backed up right now. A few important things to know: 1. Make sure you're continuing to file your weekly claims while waiting for your appeal 2. Document everything related to your separation (emails, performance reviews, etc.) 3. Before your hearing, write down a clear timeline of events 4. If you win, you'll receive all back payments for eligible weeks The hearing notice will come by mail only, not email. Also, referee hearings are currently being done by phone rather than in person in most cases.

i waited 2 months for my appeal and then they scheduled it with like 3 days notice! make sure ur checking ur mail everyday bcuz if u miss it they'll rule against u automatically. the whole thing is set up to make u fail honestly

When I had my appeal back in January, I waited about 5 weeks for a date, but here's what I learned: appeals from the same employer often get batched together. So if your employer has appealed multiple claims (which happens when companies do layoffs but try to call them something else), they might be scheduling a bunch of hearings for the same day. That could be causing additional delays. Also, what does your UC dashboard show as your claim status? Does it still say "pending" or does it say "appeal filed"?

hey have u tried contacting ur state rep? my cousin was waiting forever for her appeal and she emailed her state rep's office and magically got a hearing date like a week later. worth a shot!

Just wanted to add that while you're waiting, make sure you're fulfilling the PA work search requirements. You need to complete at least two work search activities each week. This is really important because even if you win your appeal, you could be disqualified for benefits for any weeks you didn't do the required work search activities. I learned this the hard way and lost out on two weeks of payments.

my appeal only took 4 weeks but that was in delaware county not cambria. maybe different counties have different wait times? anyone else notice that?