PA UC claim stuck in week 9 with appeal pending & additional questionnaires - no payment timeline

I feel your pain! PA UC is notorious for taking FOREVER with appeals. Mine took 12 weeks from filing to hearing date, then another 3 weeks after the hearing to get a decision. Those job questionnaires are actually a good sign - they're finally processing your claim. Make sure you fill them out super detailed and return them ASAP. Any small inconsistency will restart the whole verification process.

same thing happned to me. took 11 weeks total and then i got all the money at once. make sure u answer ur phone if it rings even if u dont recognize the #. they called me for my hearing and when i missed it the first time they delayed everything by 3 weeks!!

The questionnaires about past employment are part of the standard wage investigation that happens during appeals, especially when there's a dispute about your separation reason. This is actually moving at a normal pace for PA's current backlog. For the appeal hearing, you should receive a written notice at least 10 days before the scheduled date, and they typically occur 8-12 weeks after filing the appeal. To prepare for your appeal hearing, gather documentation that proves you were laid off rather than quit: severance letters, emails about the restructuring, any communication with HR, and contact information for any witnesses who can verify your version of events. Make sure you've completed your weekly certifications every week even though you're not getting paid yet - if you win the appeal, you'll receive backpay for all properly filed weeks.

I had almost the identical situation last year. The appeal process is frustratingly slow in PA, but there's one service that actually helped me get through to an agent to check on my status. I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to contact UC instead of wasting hours with busy signals. They got me connected to a rep who explained exactly what was happening with my claim and gave me a timeline. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 The rep I spoke with was able to see that my questionnaires were received and being processed, and could tell me approximately when my appeal hearing would be scheduled. Definitely worth it to get actual information instead of just checking the portal daily and seeing no changes.

THE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO MAKE U GIVE UP!!!!!!!! They drag these appeals out HOPING you'll just find a job and stop pursuing it. I waited 14 WEEKS for my hearing and had to take out a payday loan just to survive. When I finally got approved they suddenly 'found' all these supposed overpayments from 2 YEARS AGO to deduct from my backpay. The whole UC system is a SCAM to protect employers!!!!

I got those questionnaires too. filled them all out and then they sent me more for jobs from like 3 years ago that weren't even in my base year. so confusing

I know it's stressful but hang in there! My claim took 10 weeks total with an appeal but I did eventually get all the back payments in one lump sum. It was actually kind of nice getting all that money at once - paid off my credit card debt immediately. Just make sure you're doing your weekly certifications and work search activities (applying to at least 2 jobs per week and doing 1 additional search activity). They'll check your work search record if you win the appeal.

anybody else notice how the UC website is always down for "maintenance" exactly when you need to file your weekly claim? happened to me like 3 times already this year

After trying that Claimyr service someone mentioned above, I actually did get through to PA UC yesterday. The rep told me they're currently working on appeals filed in early March (this is for anyone filing in late May). So there's about a 10-11 week backlog right now. He also mentioned that if you have multiple employers in your base year, the questionnaires will definitely slow things down because they have to verify with each one. Just sharing in case it helps anyone estimate their timeline.