Eligibility Question

Hi fellow Pennsylvanians. I'm about to get laid off from a temporary job and am wondering if I will be eligible for UC benefits. Here are my facts:

I was on Tier 3 UC when I started working on Oct. 20, 2010

My last day with this job is March 11, 2011.

I worked for 21 weeks and made enough money for them all to be counted as weeks.

I'm guessing that unless the extension of my old claim will kick back in, I am not eligible because I don't have enough weeks in the base year that they will count. Can anyone help me figure this out?

Thanks!

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=599973&mode=2

I found this link for general info.

JoanB wrote:Hi fellow Pennsylvanians. I'm about to get laid off from a temporary job and am wondering if I will be eligible for UC benefits. Here are my facts:

I was on Tier 3 UC when I started working on Oct. 20, 2010

My last day with this job is March 11, 2011.

I worked for 21 weeks and made enough money for them all to be counted as weeks.

I'm guessing that unless the extension of my old claim will kick back in, I am not eligible because I don't have enough weeks in the base year that they will count. Can anyone help me figure this out?

Thanks!

If you are not eligible to open a new claim, you will go back where you left off on Tier 3. They may recalculate your benefit to include the earnings from your 21 week temp job. In order to reactivate, you must call them.

Good luck! That 21 weeks of temp work will fill in the gaps on your resume and hopefully help you find full-time permanent employment soon.

You should go back on Tier3 where you left off seeing as you never finished out the Tiers and they are into law.

Thanks everyone. Believe me, I am thankful for the job while it lasted. It was in my field, paid pretty well, and I was able to put a little away. And as you say, having a more recent job on my resume is huge, as we all know.

So if you're on Tier 3, how does that extension that they passed at the end of December affect benefits?

JoanB wrote:Thanks everyone. Believe me, I am thankful for the job while it lasted. It was in my field, paid pretty well, and I was able to put a little away. And as you say, having a more recent job on my resume is huge, as we all know.

So if you're on Tier 3, how does that extension that they passed at the end of December affect benefits?

It was a deadline extension. You will be able to finish out the maximum number of weeks your state allows either 93 or 99 depending on your states unemployment rate. If its over 8.5 then you get the max of 99 weeks.

Thanks again, getthem. Sorry I keep thinking up new questions, but what period of time do they look at for the unemployement rate to make the 93 or 99 week determination? For example, if I were eligible for UC this week, would they look at February's rate, or wait until I'm eligible for Tier 4 and look at what the rate is then, or...?

JoanB wrote:Thanks again, getthem. Sorry I keep thinking up new questions, but what period of time do they look at for the unemployement rate to make the 93 or 99 week determination? For example, if I were eligible for UC this week, would they look at February's rate, or wait until I'm eligible for Tier 4 and look at what the rate is then, or...?

I go by this link if you look at PA its at 8.5 so you are on the edge. If on its next update it goes down to 8.4 tier four will be gone. It happened in NY. If you are on Tier 4 already you will be able to finish it out.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm

So say I'm on my last week of Tier 3 and the rate goes down enough so that Tier 4 goes away...then does that mean that the 21 weeks I worked don't get me another claim because they happened in the wrong base year for me?

If TierIV isnt available then you should be eligible for 20 weeks of Extended state benefits or better known as (EB) providing your state meets the requirements for EB. PA does right now.
I suggest contacting your states employment office for more exact info. It all depends on your particular situation.

Thanks Jobless. My job ends Friday next week and I figured that they wouldn't tell me anything until then. I was just trying to see if I could find out anything before then so I wouldn't have to worry so much. But from what you guys are saying, it looks probable that I'd at the very least have a few weeks of UC--I drew about 72 weeks from before, but not sure how many of the weeks that would be 93-72 or 99-72 would be Tier III.

JoanB wrote:Thanks Jobless. My job ends Friday next week and I figured that they wouldn't tell me anything until then. I was just trying to see if I could find out anything before then so I wouldn't have to worry so much. But from what you guys are saying, it looks probable that I'd at the very least have a few weeks of UC--I drew about 72 weeks from before, but not sure how many of the weeks that would be 93-72 or 99-72 would be Tier III.

It all depends on that 8.5 number. They should be updating it soon. What is worse they don't count people that have run out of benefits. The unemployment is really much higher than they report.

I would call they unemployment office you might have enough weeks for a new claim.

Just an FYI Tier 4 is 6 weeks. So if your states unemployment rate drops below 8.5 then you will only get the 93 weeks.

Well, got the dreaded Notice of Financial Determination came today, and it says "you are not financially eligible for benefits." That was one thing I did not expect. I applied on the web site, and I'm thinking that maybe I did it the wrong way and it got processed as a new claim instead of reopening the old one where I'd be on Tier III.

So now I'm wondering if calling them would help instead of having to go through the appeal process. Anyway, it seems like appeals are for a dispute with a former employer about eligibility, not this kind of situation. I guess I'd better call.

I did see the bad news about Tier IV going away. But I think I should still have some of Tier III left and it can't be right that I'm not eligible for any benefits.

On the bright side, I had a serious interview this week, and heard from the recruiter that I made the final cut for consideration. And this was after taking a 2-1/2 hour online test, too. It's a direct, "permanent" full-time job with benefits. I'd give myself a 1 in 3 chance, and as you all know, in this job market, you can't ask for better than that.

Thanks again.

Yikes, I'm such a dope! You guys said before to call them! I should have reread this thread before I applied online!

Well, I'll just have to call and try to straighten this out.

Good luck Joan...I am praying for you to get the job!

Calling is the best bet. Maybe there was a processing mistake. I hope it all works out for you.

Thanks S&T. Prayers for you and your family too.

I called today and was told that I have 5 weeks of Tier III and then have to call to see if there is still PA EB at that time. She seemed to be hinting that there would be a very good chance that EB could be going away too.

PA's EB triggers off when the state's unemployment rate hits 8%. In reality, I can't see that happening, however, the way they calculate and report these numbers is beyond comprehension. Just my opinion.

Good luck!

Well, I didn't get that job. Thought I had a pretty good shot at it, but the recruiter said that one guy beat me out for it. I guess coming in second isn't so bad, even it it means not getting the job. It was a pretty good "professional" job with some fairly demanding requirements, so maybe that #1 guy's out of my way now and I'll get the next one that comes along somewhere. Or maybe that's B.S., but that's how I choose to look at it to get me through it.