The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry announced Thursday they are updating the state's unemployment compensation system.
The subject of heavy criticism over the pandemic, the current system is nearly 40-years-old.
L & I Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier said Thursday the department was in the process of updating the system before the pandemic hit.
"We pressed pause on the move to a new unemployment system, so we could direct all of our staff, all of our resources, all of our energy towards helping the unprecedented surge of Pennsylvanians who became unemployed due to the pandemic."
With the new system, which will launch June 8, the department says users will have an easier time filing claims and have better access to information like the status of a payment.
"The system will be easier for unemployed Pennsylvanians to use because it looks and functions like a modern website," Berrier said.
Five programs will transition to the new system, including Unemployment Compensation (UC), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), Extended Benefits (EB), Shared Work or Short-Time Compensation (STC), and Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA).
Berrier says L & I will provide additional support for users through the transition.
"Over the next two months, we will be conducting extensive outreach to the public and groups that work with unemployed Pennsylvanians to provide education and training materials, user guides and live workshops," she said.
The claims system will be offline for approximately two weeks during the transition. L & I is expected to provide more information in the coming weeks.