After a bit of re-tooling, the State's unemployment system is processing applications for federal benefits.
Problems plagued the re-launch of Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance in Pennsylvania leaving thousands of residents unable to file for federal benefits.
Acting Pennsylvania Secretary of Labor and Industry and Labor Jennifer Berrier said the upgrades were necessary. "We did learn some lessons from transitioning from the first Federal CARES act programs to the extension, so we will take those lessons that we have learned and use them moving forward to hopefully promote a more flawless, seamless transition in future legislation."
Those problems have been resolved, and Berrier said she feels for those who the delays have affected. "I am very empathetic to what is going on and we are working as hard and quickly as we can to resolve these issues because we realize that people are suffering and we want to help. That is our number one priority."
Berrier says a total of around 500,000 Pennsylvania claimants are eligible for the federal unemployment benefits programs under the CARES act.
Both programs expired at the end of December, but resumed as part of new federal CARES Act extensions.