Pennsylvania (PA) Unemployment Benefits Guide

This guide explains how to apply for unemployment in Pennsylvania. Follow step by step instructions that will help you claim benefits through PA state unemployment office.

First and foremost, apply as soon as you lose the job. State unemployment offices generally take 1-3 weeks to process your application, especially for the initial claim. The compensation will be paid from the week you applied and if you delay, you will lose the benefits prior to the week of filing. You won't be allowed to back-date your claims or claim the benefits for prior weeks.

Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Eligibility Requirements

There are some basic rules for eligibility. Even if you meet some of these rules partially, you should still apply for unemployment because state offices make a reasonable attempt to process your claim, as long as you provide a good justification.

1. You must have lost your job through no fault of your own. That means if you have quit job voluntarily you may not qualify for unemployment insurance. However, there are exceptions - such as working in hazardous or inhuman working conditions etc. to this rule.
2. You must be willing and able to work. If you are physically disabled, you do not qualify.
3. You must have worked minimum number of weeks specified by the State. Pennsylvania State minimum weeks of covered employment requirement (employer must have paid unemployment taxes on your behalf): 16
4. You must have earned minimum amount of wages specified by State during this period. This amount may change every year. You can get get complete eligibility criteria and the benefits calculator from state website mentioned in the next section. Minimum wages earned during the base period: $50

Prepare documents required to apply for unemployment in PA

• Your name, address, social security number and other personal details such as telephone number, email address etc.
• Dependents name, date of birth and their social security number.
• Details of your previous employer. For each employer, you need to provide
  1. Name and address
  2. Telephone number
  3. Start and end dates of employment

• If you had out-of-state employment in the past 18 months, you also need to provide the employment details.
• Reason you lost the job – it has to be involuntary to be eligible to receive benefits.
• Your job skills summary
• If you are not an US citizen, keep your alien registration number and work authorization. However if you are on a work visa such as H1-B, immigration experts do not advise claiming unemployment insurance.

Apply for Benefits or Claim Extension

You can submit your application for unemployment compensation online, off-line (by mail or by visiting local employment office) or through telephone. Online application is the quickest and most efficient option which will also be available 24x7, 7 days a week.

Prepare and submit your application online here

If you choose to file over phone, call the unemployment compensation services toll-free number at 1-888-313-7284 , Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and Sundays 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If your Social Security number ends in an even number, call on Sunday, Tuesday or Thursday. If it ends in an odd number, call on Monday, Wednesday or Friday.

If you are applying for unemployment extension in Pennsylvania, make sure you check the latest rules. Many states are in the process of revising the rules to extend the benefits beyond the initial period. Also, remember that you need to report unemployment benefits as an income when you file taxes with IRS at the end of the year.

All the major cities in Pennsylvania including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, Reading, Bethlehem, Scranton, Lancaster, and Levittown have an unemployment office location to process unemployment claims. You can visit the local office for consultation or to file for unemployment in person

Pennsylvania Unemployment Rate (Trend)

The graph below shows the current and historical unemployment rate in the state

Voluntary Separation Criteria for PA Unemployment Eligibility
A claimant who voluntarily quits continuing work has the burden of proof in establishing good cause for quitting; and, that such cause was real and substantial, leaving the claimant no other alternative.

Health Reasons: To be eligible, the claimant must inform the employer of his/her health limitations prior to quitting so that the employer can offer suitable work within the claimant's limitations. The claimant must also be able and available for suggested accommodations. If the employer fails to offer suitable work, the claimant may be eligible for UC.

Transportation Problems: To be eligible, the claimant must show that the loss of the transportation was through no fault of his/her own and rendered his/her problem virtually insurmountable. He/she must attempt to secure alternate transportation prior to quitting. The claimant must also be able and available for suitable work in the local labor market consistent with his/her limitations.

Spouse Following Spouse: To be eligible, the claimant must show that the reason for the spouse's relocation was beyond the spouse's control, and that such relocation created economic circumstances which could not be overcome or that it was economically impossible to maintain two residences.

Attending School and Unemployment
Quitting a job to attend school is not considered a cause of a necessitous and compelling nature, unless it is to attend school or training provided under the Trade Readjustment Act (TRA). If the claimant quits to attend TRA training, he/she must show that the job he/she quit was not suitable work to be eligible for UC. Suitable work for the purposes of this exception to Section 402(b) means work of a substantially equal or higher skill level than the claimant's past "adversely affected employment," and wages of such work is not less than 80% of the worker's "average weekly wage."

Quitting job due to unsuitable work
When a claimant quits because the job was unsuitable, the claimant must show there were changes in the conditions of employment, to which he/she did not agree upon, that made the job unsuitable, or there was deception on the part of the employer with regard to the conditions of employment at the time of hire, or he/she shall be considered ineligible. The suitability of the work will be determined by considering factors such as the degree of risk involved to the claimant's health, safety and morals; the claimant's physical fitness; the claimant's prior training and experience; the distance of the available work from the claimant's residence; the prevailing condition of the labor market; and, the prevailing wage rates in the trade or occupation.

Self-Employment During the Base Year
Services performed in self-employment do not qualify as Base Year employment and will not be used to establish financial eligibility for benefits. Independent Contractors are self-employed. The following two factors must exist for a claimant to be considered self-employed. 1) The individual has been and will continue to be free from control or direction over the performance of his/her services, both under his/her contract of hire and in fact. 2) As to such services, the individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession or business. If the claimant alleges an employer/employee relationship, but the employer states that the claimant is self-employed, the employer must prove that the claimant is free from control over the performance of the service and customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession or business.

Maintaining Eligibility
You may be ineligible for benefits if you are working part-time and limit the number of hours that you are working per week when there is additional work available.
You may be ineligible for benefits if you fail to be available to be contacted by the UC Service Center when instructed to do so. It is your responsibility to inform the UC Service Center when you are unavailable for scheduled services. When you know that you will be unavailable to be contacted at the scheduled time, call the UC Service Center immediately.
You may be ineligible for benefits if you fail to participate in reemployment services to which you have been referred through the claimant profiling system. The claimant profiling system has been designed to identify claimants who may benefit the most from reemployment services. If selected, you must participate in this mandatory program of reemployment services, unless you are already participating in or have already completed such services; or there is a justifiable reason for your failure to participate in such services.

Appeal process when your clim is rejected
When the Department has made a UC eligibility determination both parties, claimant and the employer, will be sent a copy of the determination. The claimant or the employer may request a hearing before a UC Appeals Referee by appealing a determination issued by the Department within 15 days of the mailing date of the determination.

Next steps

After you have submitted your application, you should actively look out for work because the benefits you receive will not be enough to cover your living expenses. The best thing to do is to take a look at your job skills and determine if you want to improve or learn new skills so that you can use this opportunity to revive your career. There are plenty of online opportunities to earn a living while working from home.

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