PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Monday morning could bring more relief to people struggling to get help with their unemployment compensation issues in Pennsylvania. The state is launching into the next phase of its customer service improvement initiative.
Nearly 230 new customer service representatives will answer incoming calls to the Unemployment Compensation Service Center as existing staff members shift to exclusively work on resolving outstanding claim issues.
The PA Department of Labor and Industry hopes the extra staff will allow for individuals receiving unemployment benefits to more easily reach a customer service representative by phone and increase the speed in which issues can be resolved.
In June, the state also plans to transition from a 40-year-old mainframe system to an easier-to-use modern computer system.
“We’re aware that unemployment program enrollees have experienced frustration in trying to reach us, particularly by phone,” said Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier. “While we’ve been steadily hiring staff since the pandemic’s surge in demand, this customer service initiative is a more comprehensive approach to significantly increase our capacity to answer questions and rapidly resolve outstanding issues. Being unemployed is already a stressful time. By improving our ability to respond, we can allow workers to focus on successfully returning to the workforce.”
The state outlined the following benefits of the improved customer service initiative:
- More customer service representatives will be answering calls and providing answers to basic questions.
- If a caller has a more complex question or needs assistance with their specific claim, the customer service representative will create an “inquiry” that will be sent to the claims staff.
- The claims staff will work on inquiries in the order they are received, and callers will be provided with a tracking number that can be used to see where their inquiry is in the queue.
- Callers will choose to get a phone call or email from claims staff, or to simply have claims staff resolve an outstanding issue.
- An additional 200 customer service representatives are completing onboarding and training and will begin answering calls on May 17.
- L&I will continue adding customer service representatives until all calls to the Unemployment Compensation Service Center are answered or until 1,000 total customer service representatives are staffing the phones.
L&I is working through UniqueSource with its vendor InspiriTec that specializes in combining customer service solutions with affirmative employment of professionals with disabilities, veterans, and disadvantaged individuals.
Meantime, hiring continues for customer service positions. Individuals interested in working for the Unemployment Compensation Service Center are encouraged to reach out to their local PA CareerLink location for more information.
In addition to calling, unemployment program enrollees can also reach the Unemployment Compensation Service Center by emailing uchelp@pa.gov or using the live chat service. L&I also offers a variety of self-assistance resources on its website, including FAQs, videos, infographics, and guides.
For the latest updates on unemployment programs, visit L&I website at www.dli.pa.gov or following L&I on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.