PA Unemployment Compensation Benefits Charges Update

This article is a follow-up to our previous article regarding PA Unemployment Compensation Covid-19 Relief published on July 17, 2020. The Pennsylvania Office of Unemployment Compensation has subsequently provided additional guidance on unemployment compensation (UC) charge statements and requesting relief from charges.

Under PA Act 60 of 2020, UC charge statements for Covid-19 related claims during the PA disaster period beginning March 7, 2020 are automatically relieved. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor (Department) has yet to configure a system to institute this relief, therefore charging statements continue to show charges that have been relieved on employer’s accounts. The Department is working diligently to provide a system to institute this relief, and all employer accounts will be adjusted as soon as the system is up and running.

For base year employers who may be interested in requesting relief from charges to avoid charges in any subsequent benefit year after the PA disaster period ends, mailing of UC-44(FR)s has resumed as of September 24, 2020, but will not include a reach-back of forms to mail. Therefore, employers can refer to their notices of claims filed or use their charging statements to see which former employees have filed claims, and request relief by sending an email to ra-li-bucb-uiempcharge@pa.gov with the following information:

• Employer name
• Employer Account number
• Claimant’s full name
• Claimant’s social security number
• Claimant’s last day worked
• Reason for separation from employment

For individuals who separated from their employment for potentially disqualifying reasons, employers should respond to the UC-SIDES or UC-45 mailing within four business days of receiving the notice.

Have questions regarding PA UC relief during the COVID-19 pandemic? Please reach out to your Schneider Downs tax advisor.