PA UC claim showing monetarily eligible for 4+ weeks but no final approval - when to contact state rep?
My husband's been stuck in PA unemployment limbo for almost 5 weeks now. His claim shows he's monetarily eligible (enough wages in his base year), but we're still waiting to find out if he's fully approved to start receiving payments. The waiting is driving us crazy because bills are piling up. Is this normal? How much longer should we expect to wait before hearing something? And I'm wondering at what point we should reach out to our state representative for help with the claim? This is our first time navigating the UC system and I'm getting more stressed each week that passes without any updates.
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Yuki Yamamoto
I was in the same boat back in February. Monetarily eligible for 6 weeks but no payments! Turns out there was an 'open issue' on my claim that nobody bothered to tell me about. Have your husband log into his PA UC dashboard and check under the 'Claim Status' section to see if there are any open issues listed. If there are, you definitely need to call right away. I eventually used Claimyr.com to get through to an actual person after 200+ redials got me nowhere. They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 - totally worth it to skip the busy signals and actually talk to someone who could fix my claim.
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Ethan Brown
•Thank you! I just had him check and yep, there's an 'open issue' showing but it doesn't explain what the issue actually is. So frustrating! I'll look into that service because we've called so many times and never get through.
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Carmen Ruiz
From my experience working with claimants, monetarily eligible just means he qualifies based on past wages, but there could be several other eligibility factors being reviewed. The most common reasons for delay are: 1. Employer disputed the reason for separation 2. Job search requirements verification 3. Identity verification issues 4. Missing information on the initial application The PA UC system is supposed to issue determinations within 21 days, but they're often behind. I would strongly recommend contacting your state representative after 5-6 weeks with no update. They have special channels to inquire about claims and can often get answers when you cannot.
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Andre Lefebvre
•This is good advice! My neighbor waited 7 weeks and nothing happened until she contacted her state rep. Had her money in like 3 days after that!
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Zoe Dimitriou
THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!! I waited EIGHT WEEKS last year because of some stupid "open issue" that was their mistake all along!!! The PA unemployment system is COMPLETELY BROKEN and they don't care at all about people suffering!!! Call your state rep immediately and don't wait another day. The UC office never answers phones and never fixes anything until they get political pressure!!!
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QuantumQuest
•ya theyre all bout collecting our tax $ but when we need help suddenly nobody home lol
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Jamal Anderson
In addition to checking for open issues, make sure your husband is completing his weekly certifications even though he hasn't been approved yet. You need to keep filing each week to claim benefits for those weeks, even during the waiting period. Missing weekly certifications can cause further delays or loss of benefits for those weeks. Also, depending on the reason he separated from his employer, there might be different waiting times. If it's a straightforward layoff, it should be quicker than if he quit or was fired for cause, which requires more investigation.
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Ethan Brown
•Oh my gosh, thank you for mentioning the weekly claims! He hasn't been doing them because we thought he needed to wait for approval first. Going to have him catch up on those right away if possible!
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QuantumQuest
my claim took 9 weeks lol... pa uc is a mess rn... def call ur state rep after week 5... they got mine fixed
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Mei Zhang
•Same happened with me. Called my state rep's office after 5 weeks of nothing and magically my claim was processed a few days later. The rep's secretary told me they get dozens of these calls every single week. Seems like it's the only way to get UC to do anything.
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Ethan Brown
Update: I called our state rep's office today and they were super helpful! They said they're seeing tons of delays right now and have a special form they submit to UC for constituents. They're going to follow up and said we should hear something within 7-10 days. Also, husband managed to file the missed weekly certifications (thankfully). Thanks everyone for the advice!
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Carmen Ruiz
•Great to hear! Make sure your husband continues filing weekly claims while waiting. Also, once benefits start, remember he'll need to complete and document his work search activities (at least two per week). Keep all documentation of job applications, emails to employers, etc. They sometimes request verification later.
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Alexander Evans
So glad you were able to get through to your state rep's office! That's really encouraging. I'm dealing with a similar situation - my claim has been pending for 3 weeks now with no updates. Can you share which state rep's office you contacted? I'm wondering if it matters which one you call or if you have to call the one specifically for your district? Also, did they ask for any specific information or documentation when you called, or just basic claim details? Thanks for keeping us updated on your progress!
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