PA EB Question

Hi all,

I am hoping someone can answer a question I have on PA State EB.


I know that with PA unemployment at 7.5% State EB will trigger off on June 11th. I also know that their is legislation that will give PA a three year look back so that the 13 week regular EB will continue past the June 11th deadline. I have looked and looked and cannot find any information on where this bill now sits. I know that a state republican's bill to continue the EB but to cut other unempoyment benfits was shut down and rejected, but that's all I can find. No info on if this bill will be debated and we will continue EB past June 11th. Does anyone know what the current PA EB three year look back legislation status is ? Many thanks for reading.

I was collecting HUP EB in PA and emailed Gov. Corbett in mid-May about the bill in the General Assembly which would extend PA EB beyond June 11. I've copied his reply to my email below. To my knowledge, the bill has not yet passed and I have heard nothing new about it since about May 15th. You will find a link in Gov Corbett's reply which will take you to the PA General Assembly website. Once there, enter SB 994 in the search box at the top right side of the page and you will be able to follow the progress of the bill. I surely hope they do something soon. I'm a "99er" now, but I hope that you are able to continue with EB and that this helps you:



Dear Friend:
Thank you for your recent letter expressing support for SB 994, which would extend unemployment compensation benefits
currently available under the Extended Benefits program. Please know
that my Administration remains committed to assisting Pennsylvanians who
are enduring professional hardship during this difficult economic
period.
SB
994 is one of the many bills being considered as part of the
discussions on how to assist currently unemployed Pennsylvanians and
improve the system for those who may face similar challenges in the
future. Be assured that my staff and I will monitor this bill’s progress
as discussions continue.
In addition, since this bill is currently in the General Assembly, I suggest you contact your State Representative and State Senator
to notify them of your position. Nonetheless, should this bill be
presented for my signature, I will certainly keep your concerns and
suggestions in mind.
In the meantime, you can track the progress of this proposed legislation by visiting www.legis.state.pa.us.
Sincerely,
TOM CORBETT
Governor

Thank you PamelaJo. Hopefully they get this passed soon. I hate how everything is always last minute with all these politicians.

Guess we have to start mass calling on this.

From what I was reading in an earlier post the State Senate is in recess untill June 6th. Hopefully they will do the three year look back legislation next week sometime. I still think that there will be a delay in payments now since they waited so long, but from what I have been reading that SB 994 bill has a good chance of passing.

I've been contacting everyone I can think of, from local reps to Gov. Corbett. The local papers are constantly indicating that those in Harrisburg are in favor of extending benefits, yet nothing is moving out there.

I'm hoping that the news about the economy today will light a fire under them. Something needs to be done. Jobs are so hard to find, applicants far outnumber positions available, and it seems as though things are spiraling out of control on all fronts. We need help and I don't know how much longer the lawmakers can continue to deny that we are in serious trouble as a nation. This whole situation is going to trickle down to everyone, not just those of us who are currently unemployed.

If I hear anything new about PA's status, I will post it right away. So far, no news...and that is NOT good news.

Keep fighting and keep contacting as many as you can. Maybe they will start to notice if we all voice our concerns together.

I see they posted something about EB phasing out on the UE website. So I hope that alarms more people and they call.

I agree with you 100% PamelaJo. I cannot believe I have been unemployed for so long as to even need EB but that is what happened. It really is terrible that all these politicans both at the State and Federal level are playing with peoples lives like this. What really bothers me in this whole PA mess is that they were addressing this look back thing the beginning of May, it looked like they were going to pass the fix in days and then you hear nothing after May 24th I believe.

Now I do believe eventually they will pass the Bill and we will get the EB fix, but because they waited so long everyone will see delays. For example I just started EB. I have one week left claiming June 5th, but no more claim forms after June 5th. I am assuming that I will not receive anotherbatch of claim forms till they pass the fix. Everyone knows how slow the system works so everyone will see a delay.

Rose wrote:I see they posted something about EB phasing out on the UE website. So I hope that alarms more people and they call.

I just noticed that this morning, too. Frankly, I truly believe the PA UC Center representatives are as confused as everyone else is at this point. I collected UC in PA through all of the tier transitions and all of the weeks of EB, and all went well. Now, there seems to be much confusion and many contradictions, even in the letters I've been receiving from the Dept. of Labor & Industry. I really believe they honestly do not know what to expect and things are changing so quickly that it really is a day-to-day situation right now.

Even though I am now a "99er", please know that I will keep up the fight and do all I can to call attention to those of you in PA who are still in need of these extensions. None of us can give up and we do need each other. Few others really understand what we are going through, so this is a wonderful forum of friends, full of support and concern. We are lucky to have it...and to have found each other during this difficult time!

All the best, as always!

Calling the PA UC center on this is a waste of time. I did yesterday and the rep I spoke with not only knew nothing about three year lookbacks, or bills to continue it, I also got the feeling he was annoyed that they would even consider continuing EB.

I appreciate your help and support PamelaJo. I have been on these Unemployed Friends forums since late 2009 and everyone on here has been wonderful for both support and questions. You can collect so much info and support from members on here. I personally think many on here know way more then any UC center rep does.

Atctz wrote:I am assuming that I will not receive anotherbatch of claim forms till they pass the fix. Everyone knows how slow the system works so everyone will see a delay.

Be advised that there is a delay in the claim forms and deposits when you transition from EB to HUP EB. You will get all that you are entitled to before the cut-off on June 11th. I was scared to death during my transition to HUP, as I heard nothing from L&I and my deposit was almost 2 weeks late. Everything did finally arrive, so I am certain you will be okay through June 11th. Do not lose hope. I've been there. Spent so many days crying and feeling awful. I know what you are going through. Those wasted days are moments of my life I can never get back, so I will no longer allow myself to get that low. It's hard, but it's the only way to survive.

I sincerely hope all goes well for you...And I really believe you will be okay through the 11th.

I still should have about 10 weeks left of EB assuming they will pass the fix. I do have a 7 year old daughter to care for so I am worried but I am not hurting as bad as many are on here or so many 99ers are. I cannot imagine how the first wave of unemployed, the 99ers from March 2010 have been able to hang on. (I know many have not)

If they pass the look back will that make Hub EB available as well?

I believe it will not. I am pretty sure this three year look back goes to the regular 13 week EB. From what I understand the HUP7 week payments are only for an unemploymnet rate of 8% or higher. Since we went to 7.5% HUP would not apply to the three year look back. However I am no expert and could very well be wrong but that is my understanding of bill SB994.

Sorry I ment HUB not HUP.

Now I am REALLY CONFUSED! Just got today's mail. I thought I had calculated that my PA State HUP EB ended on May 28th. I now have an envelope in front of me, delivered moments ago, which contains 4 more EB Mail Claim forms! I checked my account status on the L&I website and it states that my claim is still open and active. It also says I should continue to file my claims as usual.

For some reason, old episodes of "I Love Lucy" keep running through my mind...the ones where Ricky puts his head in his hands and says "Yi-Yi-Yi!!! Lucy!" I have no idea what to think at the moment. This is certified proof that those at the UC office are as confused as everyone else. I am simply dumbfounded and have no idea what's going on now! Very strange, to say the least!

I think the rank and file over at UC know less about this stuff then we do. In my opinion they waited so long to post something about EB ending because the UC bosses wanted to see if any legislation passed to keep them in place, that way their phone lines would not be jammed with people calling about the ending.

I usually like to read the forums and not post much because I do not want to get anyone's hopes up, or bring them down when people are on the edge like this, but I do feel confident to say we will get the look back bill passed, it's just a question of when. I am hoping that the State Senate will have this first thing on their agenda Monday and vote it in, but who knows? They may wait till after Friday the 11th or a day before it, who knows?

I was away all day at a dr appt. Any news on the look back and extending EB?

fill em out and mail em!!!

I haven't heard anything new about PA's Look Back bill. I hope they move on that soon and will post here if I can learn anything new.

I have filled out the form for last week and mailed it this morning. It really does confuse me b/c my EB should have run out on May 28. However, I looked at some letters I've received from PA's UC Center and they clearly state that the "mail claim forms will not be replenished when all benefits are exhausted." I will have to wait and see what happens at this point. I just received an email saying a deposit was made to my account, but that one is for the week ending May 28th, the last payment I expected. I have understood every tier transition and even the EB to HUP EB move, but I do not understand this at all. In any case, I did fill it out and send it.

Still unemployed, scared, and have heard nothing from any interviews or application submissions...Not even a word from the interview during which I was told "You will hear from me. I need an employee like you." WHY do they even bother to give us hope if they do not really intend to call? Before I got my lay off, I had not interviewed for a job in over 20 years. Society today surely is not the same as it was then.

I have a question...with EB ending on June 11, does anyone know if that date is when they will stop altogether. I just mailed in a form on Monday. The forms I mail on Monday usually process by the weekend or on the Saturday after I mail it,, which would be the 11th. I also have a form for this week dated weekending June 11...will that form be able to be processed next week or am I done? I am also going to call the UC Service Center, but thought I would try here first.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Marianne

They end the week ending June 11, so you should have one more check.

Let's just hope they pass this fix quick.