As states reopen and the country continues to grapple with coronavirus, many Americans are still wondering about the status of their Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) payments.
WILK's Frank Andrews spoke with Hayley Michele and Wendy Murray, admins of PA-PUA, a Facebook group aimed at helping people from Pennsylvania and beyond with questions about the state's Unemployment Compensation and PUA passed under the CARES Act.
I filed weeks ago but haven't heard an update. What should I do?
Michele tells one caller from Wyoming, whose husband filed for PUA in May, what to look out for while the couple waits to hear back on the status of their claim.
"Look for a payment date and transaction number on your weekly claims," Michele explains. "If you don't have both of those in that spreadsheet there, that claim hasn't been paid out yet."
Michele also says that people who are still waiting for these can try getting in touch with local representatives for assistance.
"If you don't have them, you need to try to contact PUA to get it sorted out. You can even get local legal aid involved if you need a lot of help, or you can even contact your congressman" for assistance.
The owner of my company got a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan in May but did not pay employees until weeks later retroactively. How will this affect my unemployment as I filed biweekly claims without any knowledge of this income that's coming?
This is actually somewhat common, explains Michele.
"I've seen this happen a lot," she says. "It could result in an overpayment."
"It's not your fault but it is an overpayment that you'll have to pay back, slowly or quickly, however you can do it," she continued.
She advises finding out which week your employer has already paid you for and reporting that income over the phone.
How do you pay back a non-fault overpayment?
Murray explains that non-fault overpayments depend on how much your weekly benefit is. She says that it can be taken out of what you owe, or if it's a big amount, you may have to pay it back.
Listen to the full interview above for more information about PUA.
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