my cousin works for the unemployment office and she says your almost definitely gonna win this. employers pull this crap all the time at the end of claims to scare people. they know theyre gonna lose but they hope u miss the hearing or something so they win by default. DONT MISS THE HEARING WHATEVER U DO!!!

This sounds like a last-ditch effort by your employer to avoid paying their share of UC taxes. The timing is super suspicious - waiting 21 weeks when they had 15 days to appeal initially. I've seen this before where employers suddenly "remember" to challenge benefits right before they end, hoping people will just give up or not show up to the hearing. Since you have written proof from the county that their case is closed, you're in a really strong position. The burden of proof is on THEM to show why they waited so long and to provide evidence for their claims. Your documentation directly contradicts their appeal, so unless they have something new (which it sounds like they don't), this should be pretty straightforward. Even if the worst happened and you lost, the overpayment would likely be classified as non-fault since you were truthful in your application. But honestly, with that county letter in hand, I'd be shocked if you didn't win this. Stay calm, bring your evidence, and let them try to explain their 5-month delay to the referee.

I went through something similar about 6 months ago! I was 2 weeks late with my workforce registration due to a car accident and hospitalization. The disqualified weeks DID get converted to payment dates, but it took some persistence. Here's what worked for me: I called first thing in the morning (8 AM sharp) and got through after about 45 minutes on hold. The rep was understanding once I explained the situation and had my hospital records ready. She filed something called a "good cause determination" and told me to check back in 7-10 business days. Sure enough, about 8 days later all my disqualified weeks flipped to showing payment dates and I got the back payments within another week. The key was having documentation ready and being polite but persistent with the rep. Don't panic - 3 weeks late isn't automatically disqualifying if you have legitimate documentation of your family emergency. Just make sure you keep filing your weekly claims in the meantime!

I'm in almost the exact same boat! I was about 2.5 weeks late completing my workforce registration because of a family crisis (had to travel out of state unexpectedly). My weeks are showing as disqualified and I've been so stressed about it. Reading through all these responses is actually giving me some hope though - it sounds like there's definitely a path to getting this fixed if you have documentation and can get through to the right person. I'm planning to try calling tomorrow morning at 8 AM sharp like Sean suggested, and I'll have all my documentation ready. If that doesn't work I might try that Claimyr service Omar mentioned since I really need to talk to someone who can actually help rather than just getting busy signals all day. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this is such a stressful situation but it helps knowing I'm not alone in dealing with this!

Wow, what a rollercoaster! I'm so relieved your dad finally got this resolved. This is exactly why I tell people to document EVERYTHING when they're laid off - get that pink slip, termination letter, whatever proves it wasn't voluntary. Employers sometimes try to contest claims to keep their unemployment insurance rates down, even when it's clearly a mass layoff situation. The fact that the entire factory closed should have made this a slam dunk case from the beginning. Glad you stuck with it and found a way through the system!

This is such a perfect example of why PA's unemployment system needs major reform. Three months without payment for a clear-cut factory closure case is absolutely unacceptable. I'm glad Connor was persistent and found a solution, but the fact that people need to resort to third-party services just to talk to a human being at their own state agency is ridiculous. My neighbor went through something similar last year - also had an employer dispute that took forever to resolve. The lack of communication from UC about what's holding up claims is the worst part. People are losing their homes while waiting for money they're legally entitled to. Thanks for sharing your experience Connor - it'll definitely help others going through the same nightmare.

I've been on UC for about 8 months now and can totally relate to the anxiety around deposit timing! What I've learned is that PA's system processes payments in waves, and your payment can end up in different waves from week to week depending on various factors. I actually started keeping a simple log of when my payments hit each week - it's helped me realize there's usually only a 12-24 hour window of variation, which isn't as scary as it feels in the moment. The most important thing is what others have said - check your UC dashboard to confirm "payment issued" status first. If that shows up, you're golden, just gotta wait for the banking side to catch up. The worst part is definitely that Tuesday morning anxiety when you're expecting it and it's not there yet!

I've been dealing with ReliaCard deposits for about 3 months now and I've noticed they can be pretty unpredictable timing-wise. What really helped me was setting up text alerts through the ReliaCard app so I get notified as soon as the deposit hits instead of constantly checking my balance. That way I'm not sitting there refreshing the app every hour on Tuesday morning! The alerts usually come through within a few minutes of the actual deposit. It's saved me so much stress and anxiety. You can set it up in the app under notifications - just make sure to enable deposit alerts specifically.

I went through this exact nightmare scenario two years ago and I'm still recovering financially. My employer waited until I had collected nearly $8,000 in benefits before filing their appeal - turns out they were "gathering documentation" the whole time. The hearing was brutal because I wasn't prepared at all. I had no idea I could bring witnesses or documentation to support my case. Lost the appeal and had to set up a payment plan for the overpayment that's STILL draining my bank account every month. The one thing I wish someone had told me is that you can request a postponement if you need more time to prepare - don't rush into the hearing unprepared like I did. Also, if your employer doesn't show up to the hearing (which happens more than you'd think), you basically win by default. Document EVERYTHING about why you left that job and be ready to explain it clearly. The system is definitely stacked against us but it's not impossible to win if you're prepared.

I went through this same situation about 6 months ago and it was incredibly stressful. My employer filed their appeal 3.5 months after I started collecting benefits, claiming they never received the initial notice (which turned out to be their "good cause" argument). Here's what helped me prepare: 1. Create a detailed timeline with exact dates - when your hours were cut, any conversations about it, when you quit, when you filed for UC 2. Gather ALL documentation - pay stubs showing before/after hours, any texts or emails about schedule changes, even notes from conversations if you have them 3. Practice explaining your situation clearly and concisely - you'll likely have limited time to present your case The good news is that a 70% hour reduction (40 to 12 hours) is considered constructive discharge in PA, which means you should qualify for benefits. The fact that you tried to make it work for 3 weeks before quitting actually strengthens your case - it shows you didn't just quit immediately. Don't let the employer's late appeal psych you out. Focus on preparing your case with the facts. You've got this! Keep us updated on how the hearing goes.