PA UC benefits continuing after employer filed an appeal - will payments stop?

Yes, you'll continue to receive benefits while the appeal is pending. The law actually requires PA to keep paying benefits if you were initially found eligible until a determination is made otherwise. Make sure you keep filing your weekly claims as normal and meeting all work search requirements! If you end up losing the appeal, you'll have to pay back any benefits received after the appeal date, so just be prepared for that possibility.

Thank you so much! That's a huge relief. At least I can pay rent while this mess gets sorted out. Do you know if I should bring anything special to the appeal hearing? The letter wasn't very specific about what documentation I should have.

same thing happend to me last yr. they kept paying me but when i lost the appeal i had to pay EVERYTHING back it was like $4300!! now im on a payment plan with them forever lol

omg thats awful!! did u have a lawyer at ur hearing?? i feel like everyone should get a lawyer for these things the system is rigged against us regular workers!!! my cousin's bf had something similar and he had to move back with his parents after losing

I went through this exact situation in January. You definitely continue getting benefits during the appeal process, but document EVERYTHING about your separation from the job. \n\nFor your hearing preparation:\n1. Bring any documentation showing you were laid off (emails, termination letter, texts from manager)\n2. Write down dates of important conversations\n3. If any coworkers can confirm you were laid off due to contract loss, get statements\n4. Prepare a clear timeline of events\n\nThe hearing will be conducted by a referee who'll make a new decision based on testimony from both sides. Be professional, stick to facts, and directly address their misconduct claim.\n\nGood luck!

This is incredibly helpful, thank you! I have the layoff letter that specifically mentions \

the system is DESIGNED to screw us all they always side with employers because guess who pays into the system?? not us!! my brother got denied even with proof his boss was lying. hope you have better luck but dont count on it

That's not entirely accurate. Referees are actually pretty fair in my experience. I've been to three hearings (as an employer rep and once as a claimant) and saw decisions go both ways based on the evidence. The key is preparation and documentation.

If you're having trouble reaching anyone at unemployment to get clarification on your situation, I'd recommend trying Claimyr. I was in a similar position where I needed to talk to someone ASAP about an appeal issue, and after days of busy signals I found their service. They got me connected to a PA UC rep in about 20 minutes instead of spending days redialing. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 \n\nIt was really helpful to talk directly to someone at UC about what documentation I needed for my hearing instead of guessing.

I hadn't heard of this service before - thanks for sharing! I've been trying to call for 3 days with no luck. I'll check out that video.

your supposed to report layoffs correctly sometimes people say laid off when they were actually fired so maybe thats what happened. did you have any warnings or write ups before? that might be why they're appealing because they have some documentation. just being honest, happened to my roommate

No write-ups or warnings at all. I had good performance reviews. They literally lost a contract that was 40% of our business and laid off 12 people from my department. The letter they sent for the appeal claims I was on my phone too much and that's why they

btw make sure ur still doing all ur work searches every week dont forget to log them!!! they'll use ANY reason to deny u

Since you have a layoff letter explicitly stating \

Requesting my personnel file is brilliant! I never would have thought of that. I'll send a certified letter requesting it tomorrow. Thank you so much for this advice!

After reading through this thread, I want to emphasize that with your layoff letter mentioning reduction in workforce, you're in a good position. This kind of documentation directly contradicts their new claim of misconduct.\n\nI've seen this happen before - sometimes employers try to contest unemployment claims after the fact to avoid increases in their UC tax rate. When business circumstances change (like losing that big contract you mentioned), they sometimes try to recharacterize layoffs as terminations for cause.\n\nThe referee will definitely take your documentation seriously, especially if it was created at the time of separation rather than after the fact.

This happened to me too!! My payments kept coming during the whole appeal process which took like 2 months!! It was so stressful but I won my case. Make sure you get there early on the hearing day and dress nice like for a job interview. The referee totally pays attention to that stuff even though they pretend not to!!

Thanks for the tip about dressing professionally - I'll definitely do that. Did your hearing take a long time? I'm trying to figure out if I need to take the whole day off from my part-time job.

My hearing was scheduled for 9am but didn't start till like 10:15 because they were behind. Then the actual hearing took about 45 minutes. But yeah I'd plan for the whole morning at least!!