Those waiting for unemployment benefits could see some relief soon

Individuals still waiting to see benefits from the first weeks of unemployment at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis could soon see some relief.

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry is working on a solution to allow eligible individuals to backdate claims for the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program — a system that expands unemployment benefits to people who were not previously eligible, such as gig workers, independent contractors and those who are self-employed.

That solution could be ready by next week, said Susan Dickinson, director of the Office of Unemployment Compensation Benefits Policy.

After weeks of confusion about how and when individuals could apply for PUA and when the platform would be ready, the system launched in mid-April. For many people, that meant they had been out of work for nearly a month before they were able to start claiming unemployment benefits.

State officials said eligible individuals would be able to backdate claims to Jan. 27. But, for some, those claims were impossible to file.

The problem arose when individuals’ first week of their claim coincided with their last full week of work, Ms. Dickinson said at a press briefing on Monday. When they reported those hours, the system did not let them file for any future weeks in which they didn’t work or worked only a few hours, she said.

In the traditional unemployment compensation system, people continue to file claims while the Department of Labor and Industry makes a decision about their eligibility. For the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance system, it works in reverse, Ms. Dickinson said.

“We have to determine someone’s eligibility first, and then we have to go back and have them file for weeks,” she said.

Once the solution is available, the state will email all PUA claimants so they can file for the weeks available to them, Ms. Dickinson said.

Meanwhile, the state’s Department of Labor and Industry is working on a separate problem with the new system — scammers using stolen identities to falsely claim unemployment compensation.

None of the state’s unemployment systems have been breached, said Secretary of Labor and

Industry Jerry Oleksiak. The scammers attempted to file for PUA benefits through stolen identities they received from other sources, he said.

The department started flagging payments on suspect claims pending an investigation and began distributing all PUA benefits through a paper check — adding a two- to four-day delay in receiving benefits.

Now, they are transitioning to distributing all benefits through a debit card, hoping to speed up the process after the initial delivery.

Since March 15, Pennsylvania has paid out $14 billion in benefits and received 2.5 million claims — 2 million for regular unemployment and 512,000 for PUA.