Your claim for unemployment benefits is dependent on several factors that comprise the Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Eligibility Criteria. Failing to meet any of these requirements will cause your unemployment compensation benefits to be denied.

This criteria includes:

– Working for at least 16 weeks during your base year (the first 12 months of the last 15 months) and earning a minimum of $50 in each of those weeks.

– Earning a minimum income of $1,320 during your base year and at least $800 in any one quarter of that year. For example, to receive the maximum $565 weekly benefits for 26 weeks you must have earned $20,700 or more during your base year and $12,940 or more in your highest earning quarter.

– Losing your job out of no fault of your own. A difference of opinion between the employer and employee over the reason why their contract was terminated is probably the most common reason for appeal.

– Be able and willing to work full-time.

However, if your claim has been denied and you feel you qualify there is a benefit appeal process you can use to request a review of your claim.

APPEAL PROCESS

You have 15 days to appeal against a denial of benefits. The 15 days start from the mailing date of your notice of denial. If the last day falls on a holiday or weekend, the final date is extended to the next working day.

STEP 1

Download a Petition for Appeal or Pennsylvania UC 468 Form.

Complete section 1 of the form. You will need to provide your full name, address, telephone number, the date of the determination you are appealing against, your social security number and the work address and telephone number of the employer involved in your appeal.

Send the fully completed form to the address specified in the UC Service Center determination you were sent to notify the denial of benefits.

Once your appeal is flied the Unemployment Compensation Referee assigned to your case will call a hearing where you, your employer and any witnesses you call on will give testimony.

If you were denied benefits because you quit work (as opposed to being fired or laid-off) you will have to provide evidence of a compelling reason to leave your job. If your employer fired you, the burden of proof is on him or her to prove you were dismissed for willful misconduct or negligence.

After the hearing the referee will come to a decision and inform you and your employer by mail.

IMPORTANT

If you are involved in an appeal, you should continue filing your weekly benefits (online or over the telephone) so you can receive payment for those weeks if your appeal is successful.

When you are facing unemployment it is important to know where you can go for help, get answers to your questions and what job searching services you are entitled to help you back into the workforce. One of our readers recently made this brief request:

Could you please send me the address for the unemployment office in york county, Keith Stockton.

This made us think how many more unemployed workers in Pennsylvania are struggling to find the contact information of their local unemployment office and other services designed to help them find a new job. So we have dedicated this post to providing the contact details and links to some of the main offices and departments workers in Pennsylvania. If the office you are looking for is not included, please leave a comment and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Pennsylvania (PA) Service Centers

Most of the questions and procedures related to your UC claim can be answered and processed online or over the phone. For example, should file your initial claim online (by clicking on the link above) and file your weekly claims online or over the phone. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry provides local calling distance numbers and a statewide toll-free number.

Statewide toll-free number: 1-888-313-7284.

Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: 1-888-334-4046.

Local phone numbers:

Allentown: 610-821-6735; Altoona: 814-946-7224; Duquesne: 412-267-1315; Erie: 814-871-4311; Indiana: 724-599-1250;

Lancaster: 717-299-7711; Philadelphia: 215-856-6990; Scranton: 570-496-2332.

Job Corps Centers in Pennsylvania

Unemployed workers in Pennsylvania should also have the information on their closest Job Corps Center. Job Corps Centers provide unemployed workers with access to internet, telephone, job search referral systems and provide education and training to help you get back to work. If you live outside of Pennsylvania you can click here to search for your closest Job Corps.

Keystone
235 W. Foothills Drive
Drums, PA 18222-2410
Tel: (570) 788-1164
Fax: (570) 788-1119
http://keystone.jobcorps.gov

Philadelphia
2810 South 20th Street Bldg 12
Philadelphia, PA 19145-5001
Tel: (267) 386-2888
Fax: (215) 334-3675
http://philadelphia.jobcorps.gov

Pittsburgh
7175 Highland Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
Tel: (412) 441-8700
Fax: (412) 441-1586
http://pittsburgh.jobcorps.gov

Red Rock
P O Box 218
Route 487 North
Lopez, PA 18628
Tel: (570) 477-2221
Fax: (570) 477-3046
http://redrock.jobcorps.gov

Regional Services

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry also provides a list of contact information for other offices and departments that may be of help to unemployed workers. These include: the Bureau of Labor Law Compliance, the Office of Labor/Management Cooperation,Vocational Rehabilitation Services and your county PA CareerLink office, to mention a few. Below we list the contact information for York county, but you can find more information at PA Labor and Industry “Services Near You” website.

York

Deaf & Hard of Hearing

Office for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing
1521 North Sixth Street
Harrisburg, PA 17102
V/TTY – 717-783-4912
Toll Free PA Relay Service – 711

Disability Determination

Bureau of Disability Determination
1171 S. Cameron Street
Harrisburg, PA 17104-2594
Phone – 717-783-3620

Labor Law Compliance

Bureau of Labor Law Compliance
1301 L&I Building
651 Boas Street
Harrisburg, PA 17121
Phone – 717-787-2026
FAX – 717-787-0517

Labor/Management Cooperation

Office of Labor/Management Cooperation
1721B L&I Building
651 Boas Street
Harrisburg, PA 17121
Phone – 717-787-1116
FAX – 717-772-1461

Bureau of Mediation
4th Floor, L&I Building
651 Boas Street
Harrisburg, PA 17121
Phone – 717-787-1116

Occupational & Industrial Safety

Bureau of Occupational & Industrial Safety
16th Floor, L&I Building
651 Boas Street
Harrisburg, PA 17121
Phone – 717-787-3323

OVR Blindness & Visual Services

Blindness and Visual Services
Forum Place, 555 Walnut Street
8th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17101
Voice – 717-787-7500
TTY – 717-787-1733
Toll Free in PA – 866-375-8264
TTY Toll Free in PA – 888-575-9420

OVR Services

Vocational Rehabilitation Services
2550 Kingston Road, Suite 101
York, PA 17402
Voice – 717-771-4407
TTY – 717-771-4433
Toll Free in PA – 800-762-6306
TTY Toll Free in PA – 866-466-1404

PA CareerLink®

York County PA CareerLink®
841 Vogelsong Road
York, PA 17404-0868
Phone – 717-767-7600

PA Conservation Corps

PA Conservation Corps
1405 L&I Building
651 Boas Street
Harrisburg, PA 17121
Phone – 717-783-6385
Toll Free in PA – 1-888-577-4722
FAX – 717-787-9458
E-mail – pcc@state.pa.us

PA Labor Relations Board

PA Labor Relations Board
418 L&I Building
651 Boas Street
Harrisburg, PA 17121
Phone – 717-787-1091
FAX – 717-783-2974
E-mail – plrb@dli.state.pa.us

Bureau of PENNSAFE
E-155 L&I Building
651 Boas Street
Harrisburg, PA 17121
Phone – 717-783-2071
Toll Free – 1-888-SAFE-422
FAX – 717-783-5099
E-mail – li-pennsafe@state.pa.us

PennSERVE

Bureau of PennSERVE
1304 L&I Building
651 Boas Street
Harrisburg, PA 17121
Phone – 717-787-1971
FAX – 717-705-4215
Social Security for Public Employees

SSPE Administrator
715 L&I Building
651 Boas Street
Harrisburg, PA 17121
Phone – 717-783-8860
FAX – 717-783-4716

State Workers’ Insurance Fund

State Workers’ Insurance Fund
1171 S. Cameron St., Room 111
Harrisburg, PA 17104-2593
Phone – 717-787-3848
FAX – 717-772-2121

UC Board of Review

Referee’s Office
29 East King St., Suite 101
Lancaster, PA 17602-2852
Phone – 717-299-7554

UC Benefit Services
Internet and Telephone Services

Lancaster UC Service Center
36 East Grant Street
Lancaster, PA 17602

Address is provided for mailing purposes only.

Phone – 717-299-7711
Toll Free – 1-888-313-7284
Toll Free TTY – 1-888-334-4046
FAX – 717-299-7557
PA Teleclaims (PAT):
PAT Lancaster – 717-299-7560
PAT Toll Free – 1-888-255-4728
PAT TTY Toll Free – 1-888-411-4728
PAT en español – 1-877-888-8104

UC Employer Tax Services

Field Accounting Service
841 Vogelsong Rd.
York, PA 17404
Phone – 717-767-7620

Workers’ Compensation

Health & Safety Division
1171 S. Cameron Street, Room 324
Harrisburg, PA 17104-2501
Phone – 717-772-1917
Safety Committee Certification – 717-772-1635
Safety Program Audit – 717-772-1636
FAX – 717-772-1639
E-mail – ra-li-bwc-safety@state.pa.us

Judge’s Office
1661 Old Philadelphia Pike
Lancaster, PA 17602
Phone – 717-299-7591

Judge’s Office
East Gate Center, Rm 319
1010 N. 7th Street
Harrisburg, PA 17102
Phone – 717-783-4419

You must understand how the Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation program works to make sure you receive all the benefits and help you are entitled to. Our previous article discussed the importance of the Claim Confirmation Letter and its implications for you and your chances of finding a new job.

Now we will discuss a second but equally important form, the Notice of Financial Determination. If the claim confirmation letter was your confirmation your claim had been processed, the notice of financial determination is your confirmation that you are eligible for unemployment benefits and how much compensation you will receive. As you can imagine, understanding how your unemployment benefits are worked out is important if you want to guarantee you get all the benefits you are entitled to.

NOTICE OF FINANCIAL DETERMINATION

Your notice of financial determination will provide you with your UC code the maximum number of weeks you are entitled to benefits, the maximum amount of compensation you can receive, your weekly benefits rate, your additional dependent’s allowance, when your benefits start and end, and your partial benefit credit.

If it is the first time your receive a notice of financial determination you might be confused by some of these terms. Let’s look at what each term means for you in some more detail.

Maximum Benefit Amount

Your maximum benefit amount is the total benefits you will receive if you exhaust your UC benefits for your benefit year. This amount is calculated by multiplying the number of unemployment weeks you are entitled to by your weekly benefit rate. Your number of benefit weeks is determined by how many credit weeks (i.e. weeks you earned $50 or more) you have accumulated in your base year. Your base year comprises of the first four months of the last five since you filed your unemployment compensation claim. If you contributed 18 or more credit weeks you are entitled to the maximum 26 weeks. However, if you contributed less than 16 weeks you are not eligible for unemployment benefits.

Weekly Benefit Rate

Your weekly benefit rate is chiefly determined by how much income you generated during the highest earning quarter of your base year. Quarters are comprised of three months starting from January to March, April to June and so on. The table below shows how your weekly benefit is calculated.

PART A	PART B	PART C	PART D	PART E
HIGHEST QUARTERLY WAGE	RATE OF COMPENSATION	QUALIFYING WAGES	AMOUNT OF COMPENSATION
			26 WKS	16 WKS
$4888-4912 4913-4937 4938-4962 4963-4987 4988-5012 5013-5037	$198 199 200 201 202 203	$7840 7880 7920 7960 8000 8040	$5148 5174 5200 5226 5252 5278	$3168 3184 3200 3216 3232 3248

To illustrate, if you earned $4,900 during your highest earning quarter, you qualify for $198 a week. How long you receive the weekly benefits is determined by how many credit weeks you contributed. If you contributed 18 or more weeks, you will get the full 26 weeks for a total $5,148. If you contributed less than 16 weeks you would receive 16 weeks of benefits: a total of $3,168.

When you receive your notice of financial determination compare it with your personal records and confirm all the information included is correct.

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