In 2 years, call wait time for unemployment compensation help is down 75%

WILKES-BARRE — Since the start of the Shapiro Administration, the Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) has made great strides toward improving the efficiency of Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Compensation (UC) system, ensuring it is now more accessible and supportive than ever for Pennsylvanians experiencing job loss.

Through collaborations with community-based organizations, enhanced technology and increased funding, the Shapiro Administration continues its commitment to breaking down barriers to access and delivering timely benefits to eligible Pennsylvanians.

“Even during historically low unemployment, Pennsylvanians need a reliable safety net in the event of unexpected job loss,” said L&I Secretary Nancy A. Walker. “We’ve prioritized efficient customer service and quicker turnaround times, ensuring families and communities have the resources and — perhaps most importantly — the timely assistance to recover faster. In 2024, we achieved significant milestones, and we’re committed to building on this progress.”

Enhanced UC services

Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Compensation (UC) system has undergone transformative improvements to better serve claimants and streamline processes, including:

• Reduced Wait Times: Last year, more than 380 additional UC interviewers were hired to enhance customer service at UC service centers. This expansion significantly reduced wait times for phone assistance, improving overall satisfaction. In 2023, claimants on average needed to call 11.4 times before reaching a representative. This number has significantly decreased, with claimants now averaging only 2.8 attempts, representing a 75% improvement. Average call waiting times have also been reduced dramatically. In 2023, the average call wait time was 45 minutes, while through October 2024 they have reduced to 27 minutes.

• New OVR Help Desk: In February 2024, L&I’s Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) launched a dedicated Help Desk staffed by 50 individuals with disabilities – including veterans – to provide employment services and support to fellow Pennsylvanians with disabilities. Since the inception of the OVR Help Desk, these specialists have assisted 41,987 claimants with routine technical questions like password resets and uploading documents.

•Local Support Opportunities: With more than $2.5 million distributed among seven organizations, these grants target under-served populations, including rural workers, immigrants, and those with limited-English proficiency. This investment addresses barriers such as limited broadband access and technical skills, helping Pennsylvanians learn about, apply for, and maintain their UC benefits.

• Historic Investments in Technology and Support Services: Gov. Shapiro’s bipartisan 2024-25 budget allocated $68 million through the Service Improvement and Infrastructure Fund (SIIF) to increase overall staff support and strengthen UC services and infrastructure.

• Verification Made Easy: Earlier this year, with grant funding from the U.S. Department of Labor, L&I installed ID.me kiosks at all PA CareerLink locations. The new kiosks are designed to enhance and improve the accessibility of the identity verification process, which claimants can still complete from their home computer or mobile phone should they choose to do so. For most claimants, the self-service identity verification options take fewer than 10 minutes to complete.

• Reopen Process: In 2023, L&I implemented an abbreviated process to reopen a claim which reduced the process from about one hour to only 5–15 minutes. Previously, the reopen process progressed in the same way as the initial claim process. Now, if claimants don’t have changes to any of their previously provided information, they can skip ahead directly to the Employment History section.

In 2024 alone:

• UC Connect served 27,410 individuals in CareerLink locations, with a total of 91,274 served since its launch two years ago.

• In 2023, L&I distributed more than $1.7 billion in UC benefits to approximately 326,000 individuals.

So far in 2024:

• 437,663 claims were filed.

L&I assisted:

• 944,822 individuals through the UC helpline.

• 63,481 individuals via the UC Live Chat service.

• 154,445 individuals through email.

Rep. Meuser supports legislation to protect American hostages from tax penalties

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, this week voted in favor of H.R. 9495 — the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act.

Meuser said this bipartisan legislation will support Americans held hostage abroad by waiving certain IRS late fees and penalties, which they are currently subjected to. As written, the U.S. tax code offers Americans held hostage just one year of relief before IRS late fees and interest begin to accrue. Meuser said this legislation ensures that American hostages returning to the U.S. are not penalized for back taxes incurred while they were held overseas against their will.

Additionally, Meuser said the bill will strengthen the United States’ stance against terrorism by revoking the tax-exempt status of U.S. nonprofits found to have provided material support to designated terrorist groups.

“Ryan Corbett, who grew up in Susquehanna County, has been held by the Taliban for 834 days,” Meuser said. “It’s unimaginable that Americans, like Ryan, who endure such brutal hardship should come home only to face a massive tax bill or penalties from their government. The Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act will ensure Ryan, and other Americans, can return home without the added burden of financial fallout from the IRS, allowing them to focus on rebuilding their lives. And just as captors holding American citizens should not receive a dime in taxpayer aid, neither should terror sympathizers receive tax relief from the federal government. I strongly encourage my colleagues in the Senate to take up this commonsense legislation.”

H.R. 9495 passed the House by a vote of 219-184 and was referred to the Senate for further consideration.

FBI: Don’t let criminals exploit your compassion this giving season

FBI Philadelphia this week reminds the public of the charity fraud scams criminals deploy this time of year to cash in on your kindness.

Charity fraud schemes seek donations for organizations that do little or no work — instead your charitable donation goes to the fake charity’s creator. Scammers can contact you in many forms, from emails, text messages, cold calls and social media.

Use these tips to ensure your charitable donation makes it to a legitimate cause, and to protect yourself from potential scammers:

• Give to established charities or whose work you know and trust.

• Be aware of organizations with copycat names or names similar to reputable organizations.

• Be wary of new organizations that claim to aid victims of recent high-profile disasters.

• Give using a check or credit card. If an organization asks you to donate through cash, gift card, virtual currency, or wire transfer, it’s probably a scam.

• Practice good cyber hygiene:

• Don’t click links or open email attachments from someone you don’t know.

• Manually type out links instead of clicking on them.

• Don’t provide any personal information in response to an email, robocall, or robotext.

• Check the website’s address—most legitimate charity organization websites use .org, not .com.

The FBI encourages the public to report charity fraud to the FBI through the Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

For more information on charity fraud, visit: Charity and Disaster Fraud — FBI.

AG Henry calls on the FCC to strengthen vetting process to block robocallers

Attorney General Michelle Henry this week joined a bipartisan coalition of 46 Attorneys General in calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to improve their Robocall Mitigation Database and close what has effectively been an unmonitored loophole that bad actors exploit to contact Pennsylvanians with unwanted phone calls and text messages.

“Every day, Pennsylvanians are being inundated with spam robocalls and text messages,” AG Henry said. “We have made it clear that robocalls are not welcome here, and I am proud to stand with my colleagues in this coalition to announce an important action in the fight against illegal, nuisance robocalls.”

Currently, voice service providers must register under the FCC’s database — however, since the database launched in 2021, there has been little maintenance done to ensure bad actors do not have access to the U.S. telephone network. Companies have submitted non-vetted information and voice service providers have faced no real consequences for filing inaccurate, false, misleading, or otherwise incomplete information.

The coalition of Attorneys General is calling on the FCC to strengthen the database so providers are subjected to deadlines and have their information scrutinized. If adopted, the proposed changes would make it harder for bad actors to gain access to the U.S. telephone network and contact residents.

Attorney General Henry is a member of the Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force and has been committed to actively investigating and pursuing enforcement actions against entities who perpetrate illegal robocalls.