[Pennsylvania] Backpay Eligibility for U.S. Census Workers?

[personaldilemma]

Hi all.

My first job was working for the U.S. Census as an enumerator for the 2020 Census. Shortly after Census operations completed I was in a car accident and was unable to work. I consulted with my former supervisor about unemployment and they said they had no information for me.

A few months later I spoke with a Pennsylvania Office of Unemployment Compensation employee on the phone and they said they didn't think I was able to collect unemployment because of the duration of my employment (four months) and they were confused about how I would go about applying as a temporary Federal employee for State assistance.

I additionally tried to file for unemployment compensation using the tool on PAOUC website, but when I entered that I was a federal employee it stated I had to file for PUA first before State compensation. Only when I tried to use the PUA tool, it told me I had to attempt to file a normal UC claim first, which I couldn't complete. When I called about this issue, I was told to see someone at a local unemployment office to file paperwork in person, but at that time they were all closed to in person visits because of COVID-19.

Note: At this time I am still suffering from pain that is interfering with my ability to work, but as far as the State is concerned, I am NOT eligible for unemployment due to injury.

I assumed I was out of luck and simply not qualified for unemployment due to my short work history and didn't pursue anything beyond this. However, I recently spoke with a family friend that is a county employee in the State of Pennsylvania, and they insisted that I should have had eligibility for UC and that the State will even backpay for up to a year should I file now.

With this new motivation I visited my local unemployment office, but they insisted I had to file with the county of which I resided at the time of employment and sent me home. I lived on the opposite side of the State at the time and driving is quite difficult for me, so I'm hesitant to drive all the way out there only to be brushed off again.

So my question to this community is; does any of this add up? In your opinion is this worth pursuing? I've received a lot of shame from my family for pursuing UC due to my young age, but I'm desperate for any source of money to help pay for food and medical bills and quite honestly no longer discouraged by how this might effect me socially.

Note: I have been actively applying to career postings online as well as Universities if that is relevant to my possible eligibility.

If you got this far, thanks so much for letting me vent, and I appreciate any guidance you can offer.

 

[azrael18]

@personaldilemma Based on the information that you have provided you need to apply for disability, not unemployment.

 

[dcd]

@personaldilemma eligibility is based upon your previous work (1-2 years) prior to becomes unemployed if you only worked for 4 months in the previous 2 years before becoming unemployed you may not be eligible. As for filling as a federal employee you should have a Standard Form 8 (SF-8) which tells the state all it needs to know for you (if you don't have it you can get it free). with that I would go to the website and file for regular UC again and see what happens.

 

[hogstar]

@personaldilemma I dunno what “unemployment offices” you were visiting. Pennsylvania hasn’t had walk in unemployment offices in over 20 years. If you are referring to a CareerLink office, there are no Office of UC Benefits employees working in a CareerLink.

There’s pieces of the story missing here or some stuff happened that you didn’t understand because you are not familiar with the UC process.

I think when you filed the UC claim you received the automated financial determination which showed no wages because your wages were federal and that state has to request them from the Feds. There is an automated message sent to all claimants about PUA when they are not financially eligible for regular UC.

Four months of work is probably not going to be enough to qualify you for benefits. What were your beginning and ending dates of employment with the census?