PA UC employer appeal to Board of Review - how long until decision?
My former employer has appealed our UC referee decision to the Board of Review. I won at the referee hearing back in January (they claimed misconduct but couldn't prove it). Now they've appealed to the Board and it's been almost 7 weeks with no answer. Getting really nervous because I need this money to pay bills. Has anyone gone through an employer appeal to the Board? How long did it take to get a decision? My anxiety is through the roof waiting.
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Mary Bates
yep went through this last year. took 9 weeks for me to hear back but that was during summer when i think they have backlogs. board ended up agreeing with the referee in my case too
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Oliver Brown
AuthorThanks for sharing. 9 weeks feels like forever! Did you keep getting paid while waiting for the Board decision? My payments are still coming but I'm worried they'll suddenly stop.
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Clay blendedgen
The Board of Review is typically taking 8-12 weeks for decisions in 2025. This is longer than their pre-pandemic timeline of 4-6 weeks. As long as you won at the referee level, you should continue receiving benefits during the Board review process. If the Board eventually rules against you, then you'd face an overpayment situation. But statistically, the Board upholds referee decisions about 65% of the time when the employee won initially.
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Ayla Kumar
my brother lost his case even though he won with the refferee. said the board just looked at paperwork and didnt even talk to him! is that normal???
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Clay blendedgen
Yes, that's normal. The Board typically doesn't conduct new hearings - they review the transcript and evidence from the referee hearing. That's why it's so important to present all your evidence at the referee level. They only schedule new hearings in unusual circumstances.
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Lorenzo McCormick
I WAITED 14 FREAKING WEEKS for my board decision last year!!!! The system is BROKEN!!!! Called every day for weeks and couldn't get through to ANYONE who could tell me what was happening. Meanwhile my landlord was threatening eviction and my car almost got repossessed. PA UC is a JOKE when it comes to communication!!!
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Carmella Popescu
Did you win at least after all that waiting? That sounds awful.
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Lorenzo McCormick
Yeah I won but by then I'd already had to borrow money from family and damage my credit. The stress wasn't worth it. And they never explained why it took so long!!!
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Kai Santiago
I've been through this twice with PA UC. The Board of Review has specific timelines they try to follow, but they've been consistently backlogged since 2023. One thing that might give you peace of mind is documenting everything. If you haven't already, write down the exact dates of your referee hearing, the decision, and when the employer filed their appeal. This can be helpful if you need to follow up. Also, if you're experiencing financial hardship while waiting, you might want to check with PA 211 for temporary assistance resources.
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Oliver Brown
AuthorThat's great advice about documenting everything. I have most dates saved but I should organize them better. Did your benefits continue during both of your Board appeals? And did you eventually win?
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Kai Santiago
Yes, benefits continued during both appeals. I won the first case (Board affirmed the referee) but lost the second one (Board reversed). For the one I lost, I had to repay about $4,200 in benefits, but I was able to set up a payment plan. Just prepare yourself for either outcome.
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Lim Wong
I had a really hard time waiting for my Board of Review decision too. What helped me was trying to reach someone at UC to check on the status. After struggling with busy signals for weeks, I found a service called Claimyr that got me through to an agent in about 20 minutes when I'd been trying for days with no luck. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 - the agent I spoke with was able to look up my case and at least confirm it was still in process and hadn't been lost. Gave me some peace of mind. Their website is claimyr.com if you want to check it out.
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Oliver Brown
AuthorOh wow, I never heard of that service before. I've been calling literally every day and just getting busy signals. I'll check out that video. Did the UC agent tell you anything useful about how long the decision would take?
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Lim Wong
They couldn't give me an exact date, but they did confirm my case was actively in review and hadn't been forgotten. They also told me which date it was assigned to a Board examiner, which at least let me know it was moving through the process. Gave me enough peace of mind to stop obsessively calling every day!
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Ayla Kumar
my friend waited 10 weeks but then got approved and another buddy only waited like 4 weeks but got denied so i don't think theres any way to know for sure how long or what theyll decide
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Mary Bates
btw while ur waiting make sure ur still doing ur work search requirements even tho ur still getting paid. my cousin messed that up during his appeal and had a whole separate issue to deal with
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Oliver Brown
AuthorGood point! I am still doing my work searches every week. Applying to at least 4 jobs and documenting everything in my job search record. Don't want any more problems!
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Clay blendedgen
To follow up on the concerns about timeline - the Board of Review publishes their backlog statistics quarterly. As of Q1 2025, they're averaging 9.3 weeks for standard appeals. If you're approaching 8 weeks, you're actually getting close to a likely decision. One important thing to know: when the Board makes a decision, they mail it to both parties, but it's also posted to your dashboard before the mail arrives. Check your online account daily, as you might see the decision there 3-5 days before the physical mail arrives.
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Oliver Brown
AuthorThat's really helpful information! I didn't know they post it online before the mail arrives. I'll start checking my dashboard daily. Really hoping they uphold the referee decision in my favor.
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Carmella Popescu
Last year my employer appealed twice and I was so stressed about it I couldn't sleep! Then it turned out they missed some filing deadline for the Board of Review appeal and it got dismissed automatically. Have you checked if your employer filed everything correctly?
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Oliver Brown
AuthorI have no idea how to check if they filed correctly. The only notice I got was a letter saying they had appealed to the Board. Is there a way to find out if they messed something up? That would be amazing!
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Kai Santiago
You can call UC (if you can get through) and ask if the appeal was properly filed and perfected. Employers have 15 days from the referee decision to file a Board appeal, and they must follow specific procedures. Sometimes appeals get dismissed on procedural grounds before ever reaching a decision on merits.
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Lorenzo McCormick
Anyone else notice the Board seems to favor employers more than referees do? Or is that just my paranoia talking? I swear they operate differently.
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Clay blendedgen
There's actually data on this. In 2024, referees found for claimants in about 48% of cases, while the Board upheld those decisions in about 65% of cases when employers appealed. The Board actually appears slightly more likely to maintain a referee's decision regardless of which way it went. They focus heavily on whether proper procedures were followed during the initial hearing.
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Samantha Johnson
I'm going through the exact same situation right now! My employer appealed my referee win to the Board about 6 weeks ago and I'm checking my dashboard obsessively every day. The waiting is the worst part - I keep having nightmares about having to pay everything back if they reverse the decision. At least hearing everyone's experiences here makes me feel less alone in this process. Fingers crossed we both get good news soon!
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