You are here

Home

General Information about Pennsylvania

For over 20 years the Unemployment Help Center. Ltd. has been successfully representing Claimants at Pennsylvania Unemployment Hearings and Appeals
 
Contact us today to discuss your Unemployment Compensation Concern 
 
 
______________________________________________
Changes in Pennsylvania Unemployment Benefit Law!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
 
Act 6 of 2011, which was signed into law on June 17, 2011, amended the Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Law in a number of ways. These changes include for the first time a severance pay offset against unemployment compensation benefits. Under the new law, "severance pay" is defined as:

one or more payments made by an employer to an employe on account of separation from the service of the employer, regardless of whether the employer is legally bound by contract, statute or otherwise to make such payments. The term does not include payments for pension, retirement or accrued leave or payments of supplemental unemployment benefits.

The offset is calculated by subtracting 40 percent of the "average annual wage" under the Unemployment Compensation Law from the total severance amount. Currently, this "40% of the average annual wage" calculation equals $17,853, which means that claimants can receive up to $17,853 in total severance pay before their unemployment compensation benefits are affected. The amount of the severance attributed as an offset in any given week will equal the claimant's full-time daily or weekly wage, and the offset begins with the first week immediately following the claimant's separation from employment.
The effective date of the Act's severance pay provision is January 1, 2012.
 
 
 

 

Can the determination of my Pennsylvania eligibility for benefits be appealed?
 
Yes. Either the Pennsylvania Unemployment claimant or the employer can appeal a determination by requesting a hearing before a Pennsylvania Unemployment  UC Appeals Referee within 15 calendar days of the mailing date of the original determination.
 
The Referee’s decision may be appealed to the Pennsylvania Unemployment  UC Board of Review within 15 calendar days of the mailing date of that decision. Any appeal of a UC Board of Review decision must be filed with the Commonwealth Court.
 
__________________
 
 
Information supplied by the employer is used to determine if the claimant meets all of the non-financial requirements of the Law. Information will be reviewed and a written determination provided where an eligibility issue has been found. Benefits may be denied if a claimant:
  • voluntarily quit without necessitous and compelling cause;
  • is fired for willful misconduct;
  • is unable to work or unavailable for work;
  • has failed to apply for or accept suitable work;
  • is involved in a labor dispute other than a lockout;
  • is receiving unemployment benefits from another State or the Federal government;
  • has failed to report to file claims in a timely manner; or
  • is convicted and incarcerated.
In cases where a claimant voluntarily terminates his/her employment, the burden of proof is on the claimant to show the existence of necessitous and compelling reason(s) for quitting. If the separation is due to alleged misconduct, the employer is requested to provide a statement from an individual who has direct firsthand information concerning the incident(s) which caused the separation. The burden of proof is on the employer to prove that an act of willful misconduct was committed by the claimant in connection with the employment.
 
The next step is an Appeal  - call us and we can explain everything 
State: 
Pennsylvania

Contact Us