Pa. Department of Labor & Industry announces overhaul of unemployment compensation system

Pa. Department of Labor & Industry announces overhaul of unemployment compensation system

By Julia Zenkevich / WESA

April 9, 2021

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry announced April 8 that it will overhaul its unemployment compensation system after years of delays. The upgrade comes after a year of record unemployment claims filed due to the pandemic.

State officials say the new system will allow the department to increase capacity for handling unemployment claims. But first, the claims system will be taken offline for two weeks to make the transition ahead of the launch scheduled for June 8. 

People will not be able to file new claims during this time and payments for those with existing claims will be delayed.

Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier says the department will have staff on hand to address any issues that arise during the transition.

“We feel that it’s a safer move to move to this new system so that we can appropriately accommodate any future changes in our unemployment compensation or the extension programs that are created by federal law,” Berrier says.

Many unemployed Pennsylvanians have reported problems getting through to call centers and have struggled to receive benefits.

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