PA UC denied after wrongful termination - 5 months with no response, medical bills piling up

YES! Contact your state rep ASAP! I was in a similar situation last year (waited 4 months with no movement on my claim) and my state rep's office had it resolved in 2 weeks. Just google '[your county] PA state representative' and call their office. They have dedicated staff who handle UC issues and direct lines to the unemployment office that we regular folks don't have access to. Bring your claim number and any paperwork they sent you. Don't wait another day!!!

my cousin had the same thing happen he waited 7 months!!! the system is so broken. he never got his $$ even with the state rep involved so dont get ur hopes up to high

Three important things to know about your situation: 1. Appeals and employer disputes can take much longer than regular claims, but 5 months without any update is excessive even by PA UC standards. 2. You should have received an official determination letter (approval or denial) before filing an appeal. Did you receive this letter? If not, you might not have an actual appeal in process yet, just an ongoing initial claim investigation. 3. For medical bills, contact the hospital/provider billing department immediately and ask about their financial assistance programs and payment plans. Most will work with you before sending to collections, especially if you can document your unemployment situation. Regarding state representatives - yes, they can help significantly. Their constituent services staff handle these issues regularly and have special contacts at UC. However, make sure to organize all your information first: claim number, initial filing date, any correspondence dates, employer information, and a timeline of all your contacts with UC. The more organized you are, the faster they can help.

The same exact thing happened to me!! I had to wait 6 months and missed THREE mortgage payments. UC is a JOKE in PA. They don't care about us at all. I called every day for weeks and got nowhere. State rep helped a little but still took forever. Good luck!!!!!

I worked for PA UC for 10 years before retiring. Here's what's likely happening: your appeal is in the queue, but they're severely backlogged (even worse than when I was there). The fact you received a disqualification means you're in the appeals process correctly, but hearings are scheduled based on filing date, and they're probably still working through late 2024 appeals. Your state rep is definitely your best option at this point. They won't necessarily get you approved, but they can at least get you information about your status and potentially expedite the hearing if your situation is causing severe hardship (which medical bills going to collections would qualify as). Also, make sure you've submitted all your evidence for the appeal. You can send additional documentation while waiting for a hearing date.

You should submit that evidence now. There should have been instructions with your appeal paperwork about how to submit evidence, but if not, you can upload it through your dashboard on the UC website under the "Appeals" section. Make sure all documents are clearly labeled and include your claim number on everything.

Have you tried using Claimyr to get through to an actual human at PA UC? After spending weeks trying to get through, I finally tried it and got connected to a rep in about 40 minutes. Their service basically keeps calling UC for you until they get through, then connects you. Saved me so much frustration! The website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 With your appeal situation, you need to speak to someone who can actually check your status in the system. Sometimes appeals get stuck in weird statuses and need to be manually pushed to the next step. Worth a try since you've been waiting so long.

contact ur state rep AND the governors office both!!! thats wut i did

I feel your pain. My situation wasn't identical but I had an appeal pending for 3 months and was about to lose my apartment. I contacted my state rep (Phil Williams in my district) and his assistant Ashley was AMAZING. She had someone from UC call me within 48 hours. Turns out my appeal paperwork had been received but not properly entered into their system. Two weeks later I had my hearing date, and three weeks after that I got all my backpay. State reps can't work miracles but they can definitely light a fire under the UC office. What's important is having all your documentation organized when you contact them.

Update: I called my state rep's office this morning and spoke to someone in constituent services. They took all my information and said they'd reach out to their contact at UC. They also advised me to upload my supporting documents right away through my dashboard (which I just did). I'll post another update when I hear something. Thanks everyone for the guidance!