PA UC claim stuck on school district employment issue - how long until examiner review?

same thing happened to my wife last year. they put ALL school district employees in the same category even if you're just like a part time aide or whatever. sucks.

School district employees have special rules under PA UC law. What's happening is they're verifying if you have reasonable assurance of returning to work next school year. Since you mentioned you're returning in September, that might be why there's an issue. The examiner needs to determine if you qualify for benefits during the summer break period. This type of review typically takes 4-6 weeks but with current backlogs, I've seen it stretch to 8-10 weeks. Have you tried calling them to expedite?

I worked as a cafeteria worker at a school and had the EXACT same problem!! The school thing is a NIGHTMARE with unemployment! They automatically assume you have "reasonable assurance" of going back which makes it hard to get summer benefits. Took them almost 2 MONTHS to review my case and I had to appeal their decision!!! You might want to prepare for that possibility. This is so frustrating I know!!!!

When I had this issue last year, I was able to get through to an actual person at PA UC by using Claimyr. It was the only way I could talk to someone after weeks of trying. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/CEPETxZWG3KiHrg2 - basically they connect you directly to an agent at the unemployment office. I was able to explain my exact situation (I was a substitute) and they helped push my claim through the review. Worth checking out at claimyr.com because waiting for them to naturally get to your claim could take forever.

my neighbor works as a janitor for a school and he gets UC every summer no problem. maybe different districts handle it differently???

You need to understand the "reasonable assurance" rule that applies to school employees. If you have reasonable assurance of returning to the same or similar position in the next academic year, you may be ineligible for benefits during the summer break. However, as a coach, your position might be considered differently than teachers. The review timeframe depends on your specific circumstances and current PA UC workload. Right now, many claims are taking 8-12 weeks for review when they involve school employment issues. The key factors affecting your claim will be: 1. Whether your coaching position is considered seasonal 2. If you have a formal agreement to return in September 3. Whether your wages from coaching were your primary income You should upload any documentation showing your position was temporary/seasonal rather than having an ongoing agreement. This might help expedite your case.

have u tried emailing ur state rep? sometimes they can help speed things up with UC claims. i was stuck for like 2 months then my rep's office called someone at UC and suddenly my claim was processed like 3 days later

btw i forgot to answer ur question from before - my wife did eventually get approved but it took almost 10 weeks! and they owed her like $4700 by then. she had given up and then suddenly all the money showed up in her account one day

I recommend continuing to file your weekly claims while you wait for the examiner to review your case. If you're ultimately approved, you'll receive back payments for all the weeks you properly certified. Missing weekly certifications during this waiting period could cause you to lose potential benefits.

Did u try the PA UC live chat option?? Sometimes u can get answers faster that way than calling!! But u have to be SUPER quick - the chat spots fill up in like 30 seconds when they open!!

Based on recent cases I've seen, the PA UC department is currently prioritizing school employee claims that are approaching the start of the new school year. Since we're in August and you filed in June, your claim should be coming up for review soon. The system typically flags these for expedited processing about 2-3 weeks before the typical school start date. Keep checking your dashboard daily for any status changes or requests for additional information. Sometimes they'll need verification from your school district about your employment status.

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! Filed in July for a similar coaching position and my claim has been stuck for weeks with the school district issue. It's so frustrating because like you said, we're not traditional teachers with guaranteed contracts - we're seasonal employees! I've been doing the weekly certifications like others mentioned but seeing that "pending" status week after week is driving me crazy. At least from reading all these responses it sounds like most people eventually get approved, even if it takes forever. Hang in there - we're all in this together!

I'm in a similar boat but with a different school role - I was a substitute teacher last year and filed in June too. My claim has been stuck for over 6 weeks now with the same school district issue. What's really frustrating is that subs don't have ANY guarantee of work for the next year, yet they still treat us like we have "reasonable assurance." I've tried calling probably 100 times with no luck getting through. Reading all these responses is actually helpful though - sounds like most people do eventually get approved, it just takes way longer than it should. I'm definitely going to try that live chat option tomorrow at 8am and maybe contact my state rep too. This whole process is such a mess but at least we're not alone in dealing with it!

I was a bus driver for our school district and went through this same nightmare last summer! The "reasonable assurance" rule is so unfair for those of us in non-teaching roles. What really helped my case was getting a letter from HR at the school district explicitly stating that my position was seasonal with no guarantee of rehire. I had to be pretty persistent with the district office to get that letter, but it made all the difference when the examiner finally reviewed my claim. Also, I found that filing an appeal right away (even before they make a decision) can sometimes speed up the initial review process because it shows you're serious about fighting it. Took about 7 weeks total but I did get approved with full back pay. Don't give up!