PA's New Unemployment Compensation System Goes Live

PENNSYLVANIA — Pennsylvania new unemployment system, which officials say will make it simpler for individuals to file claims, went online on Tuesday.

The system officially launched at 3 a.m., and more than 41,000 people filed claims by 10:40 a.m. The phone system, meanwhile, came back online at 11 a.m. The system can be accessed online here.

The move went as expected, as Tuesday was the anticipated date of the rollout. Months of pre-planning "eliminated many potential issues," officials said.

"Today, Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Compensation system took a giant leap forward not just in terms of technology, but in the quality of service we are able to provide,” Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier said in a statement. “L&I staff have been working hard to make the transition to this new system seamless for users. As we see users logging on and successfully filing their claims in this faster and easier-to-use system, we are thrilled to see our vision of a modern, intuitive unemployment system has finally come to fruition.”

The transition to the streamlined system was no simple matter, however. Due to what officials labeled the "enormous magnitude" of information being moved, the transfer could only begin when the old database was taken offline last week.

As of early Tuesday, officials said there are two main areas where users have run into some questions so far. The first is that those who receive payments by direct deposit are seeing their payment type listed as a "debit card." This is simply a display issue, and will not impact your direct deposit. The second issue involves a small number of people who have struggled to login with their Keystone ID; officials say it has to do with server connectivity, and it is currently being fixed.

These changes have no impact on those filing Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims, as that is done through a separate system.

To help familiarize Pennsylvanians with the new system, the state is launching a series of 25 workshops to teach them how to use it. Programs include how to create a new ID, reseting a password, filing an appeal, how to navigate the Waiting Room, and changing communication preferences. Details are online here.

Over the past week, no claims were able to be processed online. Staff with the Department of Labor and Industry continued to take inquiries from new claimants via phone and email, however, and placed them in a queue to be processed once the new system is online. Details on this assistance are available via the state's UC Service Center.