Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Restarts In Pennsylvania

PENNSYLVANIA — Pennsylvanians who lost their jobs amid the coronavirus pandemic can once again resume getting support from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program

Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier Friday announced that payments for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program in the new federal CARES Act extension are resuming.

The PUA program helps workers who lost their jobs due to the coronavirus and are not typically eligible for other unemployment compensation programs, according to the state. Gig workers, freelancers, and self-employed workers are included in this group of effected Pennsylvanians.

Those affected can file for the additional 11 claim weeks now. Claims must be filed by Jan. 29. Email ucpua@pa.gov if you did not or were unable to file by Jan. 29 to request back dating for claims.

The filing process is the same as before. To file, claimants should log onto their dashboards and claim the additional weeks, which will be added to their accounts. Claimants will be able to file for the weeks of Jan. 2, Jan. 9, Jan. 16, and Jan. 23.

For those who did not have claim weeks or didn't file for the week ending Dec. 26, 2020, claims must be reopened before proceeding with the program. To do this, claimants must log onto their dashboard and click on the link to reopen a claim.

Anyone who tried to open a new claim while the PUA program was inactive will encounter error codes that the UC staff must fix before you can proceed. Please be patient while we work quickly to resolve your issue.

First-time PUA claimants opening a claim in 2021 cannot file yet. State officials are still adding 2020 as a base wage year in the system and will notify new claimants when they are able to file for benefits.

Additionally, claimants will automatically get the extra $300 weekly Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC).

Anyone with questions about enrollment in PUA should email ucpua@pa.gov.