PA UC federal wages delay - 7 weeks with no payment despite approval

Federal wages are always a headache with PA UC. The good news is that once you got someone to send your case to monetary, they can often make a determination based on your uploaded documents. They're supposed to wait for the official federal response, but after a certain time period (usually 6-8 weeks), they can use claimant-provided documentation as verification. Keep checking your dashboard daily - you'll likely see movement within a week now that it's been escalated to monetary.

I went through almost the exact same situation last year after leaving my DOD position. It took them 9 weeks to process my wages, but when they finally did, I got paid for ALL the back weeks at once. Make sure you keep filing your weekly claims even without payment! If you miss filing for any week, you won't get paid for it retroactively. And yes, upload everything you possibly can - the more documentation you provide, the more likely they can make a determination without the federal response.

Ugh I knw exactly how ur feeling!! Im not a fed worker but my employer took FOREVER to respond too. Try calling the PA UC number at exactly 7:55am thats when they just open and the wait time is shortest. They can sometimes push things thru if u explain ur financial hardship!

Whenever my UC claim had issues, I used Claimyr to reach an agent right away. Saved me hours of frustration with busy signals. They connect you to UC agents through their system - was worth it when I was desperate to resolve my issue. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2

It worked for me! Got through to an agent in about 15 minutes instead of spending days calling. The agent I got was able to escalate my claim that had been stuck for weeks.

One important thing to know about federal wages - they're processed differently than regular employer wages. There's a specific federal unit at PA UC that handles these claims. When your case was sent to "monetary" today, that's actually a good sign because it means they're preparing to make a determination with what you've provided. Federal employers are notorious for being slow with these verifications - some people wait 10+ weeks. Since you've hit the 7-week mark and provided your own documentation, you've probably triggered their internal policy to move forward without the federal response.

i woudnt get ur hopes up too high... my neighbor was federal and waited 12 WEEKS before they finally processed everythin. the whole system is a joke tbh. wish u luck tho!!

To answer your questions - yes, they will pay all 7 weeks retroactively once they process your wages, assuming you've been filing your weekly claims consistently. And calling can help, but now that it's with monetary, I'd give them about 3-4 business days before calling again. When you do call, specifically ask if they can check if your case has been assigned to a monetary examiner yet. If it has, they can sometimes send an internal message to that examiner noting your financial hardship, which might prioritize your case slightly.

I work in HR (not for the government) and deal with unemployment verifications regularly. Federal agencies operate under different rules for unemployment verification - they use a system called SIDES for wage verification that doesn't always communicate properly with state systems. This is probably why there's a delay. The good news is that PA UC does have an established protocol for these situations. After approximately 6-8 weeks with no federal response, they can use your submitted documentation for a provisional determination. The monetary department is exactly where you want your case to be right now - they'll review your documents and likely make a determination within 5-7 business days.

The provisional determination is technically subject to revision if the federal employer eventually responds with substantially different wage information. However, in practice, most federal wage reports end up confirming what employees submit (paystubs, W-2s). The main issue is usually just the delay. Once you receive payments, it's rare that they would later determine an overpayment unless there's a major discrepancy in the wage reports.

Update us when you hear something! Federal wages are definitely one of the most common delays in the PA UC system right now. And while you're waiting, double-check your dashboard to make sure you don't have any other issues or tasks that need completing. Sometimes there are hidden issues that can cause additional delays even after the wage verification is complete.