HARRISBURG, PA — A groundbreaking initiative in Pennsylvania is poised to revolutionize the way Unemployment Compensation (UC) claimants receive assistance while simultaneously providing valuable job experience to individuals with disabilities.
The Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Secretary Nancy A. Walker recently unveiled this innovative program aimed at enhancing customer service within the UC system and providing much-needed work experience for about 40 individuals who are served through L&I’s Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR). This office is committed to supporting Pennsylvanians with disabilities in their pursuit of meaningful employment and independence.
At the heart of this initiative is a new call center (1-855-284-8545), which opens a new portal for UC claimants to schedule in-person UC Connect appointments at PA CareerLink® locations and ask routine inquiries such as how to log in to the UC system, reset a PIN, or update contact information on file. Staffed by OVR customers, this call center not only expands the UC system’s capacity but also equips these employees with necessary call center experience, which could later propel them to apply for UC intake interviewer positions.
Secretary Walker declared this project as a win-win for Pennsylvania, as it offers valuable job experience to OVR customers, opening doors to new careers. Meanwhile, UC claimants get their routine questions answered more swiftly, freeing the UC intake interviewers to channel their efforts into more involved tasks.
Under Walker’s leadership, significant strides have been made towards bettering customer service within the UC system. Just a year after Governor Josh Shapiro took office with a commitment to set the UC system right, the L&I served 326,000 Pennsylvanians, distributing more than $1.7 billion in UC benefits in 2023 alone. These recipients were individuals who had lost jobs or work hours through no fault of their own.
Owing to a bipartisan budget investment for 2023-24 which bolstered the UC system with added workforce and resources, L&I is poised to continue its customer service improvement while working towards shorter timelines for new claim determination in 2024.
In the first month of 2024 alone, L&I received 62,784 claims and distributed UC benefits totaling $228,318,660 to 121,689 eligible claimants. In the same month, they served 102,365 individuals through the UC helpline, 10,383 individuals through the UC Live Chat service, and 19,954 individuals via email.
In addition to these, through the department’s UC Connect program, L&I extended in-person customer service to 4,127 individuals at Pennsylvania CareerLink® locations. This brings the total to 67,991 individuals served since the program’s inception in May 2022.
On the business side, L&I offers Rapid Response Services for employers and employees experiencing job dislocations due to natural disasters, economic transitions, or planned layoffs or closures enacted through the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN). These services are provided at no cost. In January alone, Rapid Response Services were extended to 46 employers and 1,704 workers.
All these developments point to a robust and evolving system that strives to cast a wider net of assistance to Pennsylvanians who faced job or work-hour loss. As the UC system advances with new, creative solutions like the call center initiative, it remains true to its mission—supporting all Pennsylvanians in their pursuit of economic freedom and opportunity.
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