Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Handbook

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Internet Services in Pennsylvania

Many of our telephone and mail UC services are available on the Internet.
Los servicios de Internet también están disponibles en español.

Log on to www.uc.pa.gov.

Information For Claimants With Disabilities

UC benefit information and services are available to individuals with hearing or speech difficulties through a text telephone service (TTY). This service can be accessed only if a TTY number is called from a TTY device. TTY message services are available at 888-334-4046.

Videophone for American Sign Language users is available every Wednesday from noon to 4 p.m. at 717-704-8474.

Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Program

UCP-1 REV 07-21

WARNING

UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION (UC) FRAUD IS A SERIOUS OFFENSE.

If you give false information to the Department of Labor & Industry (department) or withhold information to obtain UC, you may be criminally prosecuted under various provisions of Pennsylvania law: 18 Pa.C.S. §4904 (unsworn falsification to authorities), 18 Pa.C.S. §3922 (theft by deception) and 43 P.S. §871 (false statements or representations to obtain or increase compensation). If you are prosecuted, you may be subject to a fine, imprisonment, restitution, garnishment of federal tax refunds and loss of future benefits.

You may be committing fraud if you lie about the reason you were separated from employment, return to a full-time job or start your own business without telling the department, work part-time and do not report your wages for the week when they were earned, claim benefits when you are not able to work or available for work or allow another person to claim benefits for you.

The department’s fraud investigation division is committed to the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of those who commit, or attempt to commit, UC fraud. The department employs multiple detection systems to identify claimants who work while claiming benefits and do not report their wages. If you fail to report wages or otherwise lie about your eligibility, you should expect to be caught.

Unemployment Compensation (UC) fraud is not only a crime, it raises the cost of UC for all Pennsylvania employers and employees. UC is a protection for you now and in the future. Do not jeopardize this protection by committing fraud.

To report fraud, please visit www.uc.pa.gov and click on the "Fraud and Misconduct" link.

UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION

It is important that you receive and read all correspondence about your UC claim.

If your mailing address, telephone number or email address change, inform the UC service center (www.uc.pa.gov) and the PA CareerLink® system (www.pacareerlink.pa.gov) immediately, even if you are not filing for benefits at that time. Keeping the UC service center aware of your current contact information will ensure that you receive correspondence from the department.

We also encourage you to report any address changes to the United States Postal Service (USPS). When your UC information is mailed to you, the USPS National Change of Address database may be used to validate your address before delivering the mail. If the USPS has a different address, your UC information may be delivered to the address maintained by the USPS National Change of Address database rather than the address you gave us.