How to participate

A livestream for people with smart devices or computer access will be online at https://access.live/PAlabor. Those without internet access can listen by calling 1-833-380-0719, however access is limited so we ask that they be reserved for individuals who need them.

Participants will be able to ask questions live during the town hall. At the beginning of the event, the moderator will explain how to submit questions. To protect participants’ personal confidential information, questions about individual claims cannot be answered during the town hall.

Pennsylvania has implemented all of the new programs under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act:

• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) – for self-employed, gig workers, contractors and others not normally eligible for UC.
• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) – additional 13 weeks of benefits to people who exhaust their regular UC.
• Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) – extra $600 per week for anyone receiving unemployment benefits.

• $8.4 billion from regular UC
• $6.9 billion from FPUC
• $1.2 billion from PUA
• $94 million from PEUC

Improving Customer Service

• L&I UC staff has worked more than 147,000 overtime hours since mid-March.
• UC service center staffing levels have also increased 80 percent since March 15:
  • We’ve added 312 new employees, bringing the total of UC service center staff to 1,491.
  • We’ve added 358 additional state employees who have been reassigned from other offices/agencies to assist in UC.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Regular UC
• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)
• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)
• Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC)

Recordings of prior public town halls are available here. Additional unemployment benefits information is available on L&I’s website, Facebook or Twitter.

Harmony Road Drainage Improvements Begin Wednesday in Daugherty Township

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing drainage improvement work on Harmony Road in Daugherty Township, Beaver County, will begin Wednesday, June 17 weather permitting.

Drainage improvements including cross pipe installation in various locations will begin at 7 a.m. Wednesday morning on Harmony Road between Blockhouse Run Road and Dogwood Drive. To allow the work to occur, the roadway will close to traffic weekdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the construction area through late July.  Traffic will be detoured.

Posted Detour

West of the closure

• From Harmony Road, take Blockhouse Run Road (Route 1031) north
• Turn right onto Wises Grove Road (Route 1014)
• Turn right onto Dogwood Drive (Route 1029)
• Follow Dogwood Drive back to Harmony Road
• End detour

East of the closure

• Same detour in the opposite direction

Crews from PennDOT will conduct the roadway improvement work.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 950 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Tw

         An Ohio BBQ Restaurant has named Pa. Gov Tom Wolf their            employee of the month.

          Breakwall BBQ in Conneaut Ohio broke sales records for the Ohio resteraunt and they attribute it to Gov Tom Wolf’s Closure orders in Pa. and the fact that Pennsylvanians are traveling across the boarder to eat in their Ohio facility where the restrictions are not in place. Breakwall made the Tongue and Cheek Comment on their Facebook page saying “Also want to give a shout out to our employee of the month, Pennsylvania’s very own Governor Wolf .. you the man sir!”

Black reporter sues paper over ban on her protest coverage
By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer
A Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter prohibited from covering the city’s Black Lives Matter protests because of a tweet sued the paper on Tuesday. Alexis Johnson, who is black, filed the lawsuit in federal court in Pennsylvania alleging the Post-Gazette was engaging in racial discrimination and retaliation. Johnson was not allowed to pursue planned stories related to the protests after sending a tweet that mocked the different treatment of property damage done by black and white people. The suit says the move illegally discourages black employees from speaking out against racial discrimination. An email seeking comment on the lawsuit was sent to Johnson’s editors.

Liberal groups warn Biden could lose over policing policies
By ALEXANDRA JAFFE Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than four dozen progressive groups have signed a letter to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign criticizing his policing proposals. They warn if the presumptive Democratic nominee doesn’t adopt more progressive policies he risks losing black voters — and the election. In the letter, the groups criticized Biden’s proposal to add $300 million to community policing programs. They called on him to support defunding the police, a proposal pushed by progressives that Biden has resisted. The letter also calls on Biden to support reparations for black Americans, another proposal he has resisted. Biden has called on Congress to pass a law banning the use of chokeholds, to stop giving police military weapons, among other measures.

Trump signs executive order on police reform
By JILL COLVIN, LISA MASCARO and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed an executive order on policing following weeks of national protests after the death of George Floyd. The order is aimed at encouraging best practices and tracking officers with excessive use of force complaints. In the Rose Garden, Trump stressed the need for higher standards and commiserated with mourning families, even as he hailed the vast majority of officers as selfless public servants and held his law-and-order line. The order comes as Senate Republicans prepare to unveil their own package of policing proposals after Democrats did the same.

Police: 3 gun down man in McKeesport
MCKEESPORT, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say three people ambushed and gunned down a man in McKeesport. Police say surveillance video shows 54-year-old George Brosey was walking up the stoop of an acquaintance at Crawford Village when he was approached by a male and shot late Monday night. Police say two other males standing nearby also opened fire. The victim died at the scene. Authorities do not know why the man was targeted. No arrests have been made.