HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) -- Pennsylvania unemployment compensation system now features the multi-factor authentication (MFA) previously urged by cybersecurity experts, and claimants could begin learning how to access free credit monitoring as soon as next week.
In the meantime, new cases counts of fraud have plummeted.
That's the good news, expressed to abc27 News in a statement Thursday from the Department of Labor & Industry and to Pa. General Assembly budget committee members Wednesday by Pa. Secretary of Labor & Industry Jennifer Berrier.
The bad news? Some 47,000 claims remain to be resolved, and telephone hold times to speak with an agent are in some cases longer now than a few months ago, not shorter, situations Berrier blamed on a combination of seasonality of claims (more seasonal workers file for benefits this time of year than at other times of year) and on the state's inability to use contract workers and to borrow workers from other state departments ever since federal pandemic assistance ended in September.
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Berrier noted 2021 was still the department's second-busiest-ever year for new unemployment compensation claims, although 2020 was far busier.
"We fielded the same number of calls in 2021 as we did in 2020," said State Representative Natalie Mihalek, a Republican from Allegheny County, characterizing the calls lawmakers say that are receiving from constituents. "The unemployment rate is going down, yet we are still on the hook for all these people who can't get service through the Department of Labor & Industry."
Pennsylvanians who previously contacted abc27 News about problems, reached Thursday, described mixed experiences since their initial complaints. One man said L&I had completely solved his problem: He received one paper check and then began receiving direct-deposit payments without issue, as he searched for a job. A woman said a department staffer contacted her and has tried to help her, but she hasn't yet received any of the money she is owed.
Earlier this week, the department began requiring unemployment claimants to set up MFA -- for example, by providing a cell phone number to receive codes, via text message, which must then be entered on the system's web portal before sensitive transactions (such as changing direct-deposit banking information) can be completed. And the Wolf administration announced Pennsylvania was one of three states plus Washington, D.C., to share an initial $20 million in federal funding to improve access to unemployment benefits.
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