PA UC holding back payment week after reopening existing claim - normal procedure?

I had the EXACT same thing happen in January!! They shouldnt be holding any weeks if you're reopening an existing claim. The waiting week only applies to brand new claims. Someone at the UC office messed up, probably didn't properly code it as a reopen.

wait are u sure its not a new benefit year? If ur old one expired they would make u serve another waiting week

This sounds like a system error. When you reopen an existing claim within the same benefit year, PA UC should not enforce another waiting week. The waiting week requirement is only for new benefit years. You'll need to contact a UC representative directly to have them review your claim and remove the waiting week designation. I'd recommend doing this ASAP before they finish processing this week's payment, as it's much harder to get retroactive corrections.

I tried calling PA unemployment for THREE DAYS about the exact same issue and kept getting busy signals!!! It's so frustrating when they make these obvious mistakes and then make it impossible to reach anyone to fix it!! I finally gave up and just accepted losing that week's money because I couldn't afford to keep missing work hours trying to call them.

I had this exact problem last month and wasted days trying to call UC. Then I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual agent in about 20 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 The agent I spoke with immediately saw it was an error and fixed my waiting week issue while I was on the phone. My payment was released the next day. Their website is claimyr.com if you're interested. Saved me so much frustration!

PA UC policy clearly states that waiting weeks only apply to new benefit years, not reopened claims within the same benefit year. This is a common system error that happens when claims are reopened, especially if there were any changes to the UC system recently. You have three options: 1. Keep calling the UC service center (difficult but free) 2. Use a paid service to reach an agent faster (like mentioned above) 3. Send a message through your UC dashboard (slower, can take 2-3 weeks for response) Whichever method you use, when you speak with a representative, specifically tell them: "I'm reopening an existing claim within my current benefit year that doesn't expire until October 2025, but the system incorrectly applied a waiting week." They should be able to verify this and correct it on the spot. The waiting week error needs to be fixed by a human representative - it won't resolve automatically.

sometimes u get lucky if u call right when they open at 8am, thats how i got through last time i had issues

UPDATE: I finally got through to PA UC! Used that Claimyr service someone mentioned and was connected in about 15 mins. The rep confirmed it was an error in their system and removed the waiting week - payments should be processed in 2-3 business days. She said they've been seeing this problem a lot lately with reopened claims. Thanks everyone for your help!