Remote worker for FL company living in PA - which state do I file UC in?

You file in the state where you physically performed the work, which in your case would be Pennsylvania. Since you worked remotely from PA, that's where your employer should have been paying unemployment insurance taxes on your wages. When you file, you'll need to provide your employer's information including their Florida address, but PA will handle your claim since that's where you physically worked. This is standard practice for remote workers.

i went thru this last year. file in PA. thats where u did the work so thats where ur supposed to get benefits from. my company was in texas but i got PA unemployment no problem

The correct answer is that you file in Pennsylvania. Here's why: unemployment insurance is based on where you physically performed the work, not where the company is headquartered. Since you worked from your home in PA, that's where you file. There are rare exceptions to this rule, but they generally don't apply to standard W-2 employees. When you file your claim with PA, make sure to have all your employment information ready, including your employer's Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) which you can find on your W-2. If your employer properly reported your wages to Pennsylvania, the process should go smoothly. If there's any issue, you may need to provide additional documentation showing you worked remotely from PA.

OMG I had almost the exact situation but reversed - PA company and I was in Florida. Talk about a headache! Took me forever to get it straightened out. Make sure you call PA UC right away if anything looks weird with your claim.

If you're having trouble getting through to PA UC to ask this question or if your claim gets complicated because of the interstate issues, I'd recommend using Claimyr. It helped me get through to an actual UC agent in about 20 minutes when I had a similar remote work situation with my claim. Without it, I was getting busy signals for weeks. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 or check them out at claimyr.com. Saved me so much frustration!

Just to clarify some misinformation in this thread - if your employer incorrectly paid UI taxes to Florida instead of Pennsylvania, you won't be "out of luck." There's an established process for handling these interstate claims. PA and FL participate in something called the Interstate Benefit Payment Plan which helps resolve these issues. If you file in PA and they determine your wages were reported to FL, they'll help transfer the claim. It might take longer than a standard claim, but you won't lose benefits you're entitled to. Just make sure to continue filing your weekly claims while any issues are being resolved.

Update: I filed my claim with PA yesterday. The online system accepted it, but now I'm showing an "open issue" on my claim that says "wage investigation." I'm guessing this is related to the out-of-state employer situation. Has anyone dealt with this specific issue before? How long did it take to resolve?

make sure u upload ur w2 and last paystub to the dashboard. that speeds things up for them to verify ur wages

I had a similar situation when I was laid off from my remote job with a Texas company while living in PA. The wage investigation took about 10 days in my case, but I've heard it can vary depending on how quickly your employer responds to PA's inquiry. One thing that helped me was calling PA UC (I know, easier said than done!) and explaining that I had been working remotely from PA the entire time and paying PA state taxes. They made a note on my file which seemed to help expedite the process. Also, keep checking your dashboard daily - sometimes the status updates without any notification. Good luck!

I went through something very similar last year - remote worker for a Colorado company while living in PA. The wage investigation issue is totally normal and usually resolves within 2-3 weeks. What really helped speed mine up was having all my documentation ready: W-2s, last few pay stubs, and a letter from my employer confirming I worked remotely from PA the entire time. One tip that saved me a lot of stress - set up text notifications in your PA UC dashboard if you haven't already. That way you'll get alerts when the wage investigation is resolved instead of constantly checking. Also, even though it's frustrating to wait, definitely keep filing your weekly certifications. Once the investigation clears, you'll get all your back pay in one lump sum. The system actually worked pretty smoothly for me once everything was verified!

Just wanted to add another perspective here - I was a remote worker for a Nevada company while living in PA and went through this exact same process about 6 months ago. The wage investigation issue resolved in exactly 2 weeks for me, and I got all my back pay once it cleared. One thing I wish I had known earlier is that you can actually check the status of the wage investigation by looking at your "Determinations" section in the dashboard - it will show "Pending" until the investigation is complete, then it updates to show the wage determination. Also, don't panic if you see your weekly benefit amount as $0 during the investigation period - that's just temporary until they verify your wages. The whole process was actually much smoother than I expected once I understood what was happening!