Pa. Begins Issued Extended Unemployment Benefit Payments

On Jan. 23, Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier announced that payments for the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program in the new federal CARES Act extension will resume the week of Jan. 24.

“Since receiving the information we needed from the federal Department of Labor two weeks ago, L&I has worked as quickly as possible to update our processing system so PEUC claimants can resume filing for benefits,” said Berrier. “We know that more than 100,000 Pennsylvanians were actively receiving PEUC when the program ended in December. Our team has worked tirelessly so we can begin issuing payments to the out-of-work claimants and their families who need them during this global pandemic.”

Important PEUC program extension information for claimants follows.

• Claimants can file for the additional 11 claim weeks during the biweekly cycle beginning Saturday, Jan. 24.

• Those who had some of the original 13 weeks left over on Dec. 26, will also receive the additional 11 weeks on Sunday.

• Claimants who were being paid on the Pennsylvania’s Extended Benefits (EB) program before Dec. 26, 2020, MUST complete EB benefits before the additional 11 weeks of PEUC can be added to the claim.

• Claimants will automatically receive the extra $300 weekly Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC). Claimants do not need to take any action to get this boost.

The PEUC provides additional claim weeks to workers who have exhausted their regular Unemployment Compensation (UC) benefits.

For information on unemployment programs, visit uc.pa.gov or follow L&I on Facebook or Twitter.