Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) today announced ongoing investments in the Unemployment Compensation (UC) system as well as a status update on the Department’s support services available to workers and employers experiencing economic challenges.

When he took office in January, Governor Josh Shapiro promised to make overhauling the UC system a priority – and he is following through on his commitment to enhance the system’s functionality to process claims in a timely manner, optimize customer service at all levels, and bolster the system’s resilience during times of low or high unemployment.

Under the leadership of Acting Secretary Nancy Walker, L&I has hired more than 200 additional UC interviewers to staff service centers and answer calls. This move to more robustly staff the phone lines is part of a comprehensive strategy to augment the overall UC workforce and prioritize technical updates to the system. This hiring is the latest in the Department’s efforts to revamp the UC experience, and it comes on the heels of Acting Secretary Walker’s decision to indefinitely extend in-person UC assistance at PA CareerLink locations across the Commonwealth.

“The Department of Labor & Industry is committed to providing timely services to Pennsylvanians who lose work through no fault of their own and to businesses that are adversely affected by unexpected job dislocation,” Acting Secretary Walker said. “L&I is focused on eliminating the pandemic backlog of claims while building an Unemployment Compensation system and a Rapid Response protocol that are resilient and capable of delivering the services Pennsylvanians need – and today’s announcement is another step towards making this a reality.”
UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION

The Department’s top priority is resolution of the pandemic backlog of claims, which includes any unresolved claims filed between March 2020 and November 2021. During this period of high unemployment, the Department received 3.7 million regular UC claims and 3.4 million Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims. The outstanding backlog of unresolved pandemic claims totaled 12,832 at the end of April 2023.

There are no claims in the pandemic backlog that are waiting for an initial review; rather, each of these claims is pending for reasons of extenuating circumstance. For example, many of these claims lack required information for eligibility determination from the claimant, employer, or both, and can only be resolved through the manual process of collecting the needed information. In some cases, claimants filed a claim but never filed a weekly certification. In others, a final determination of ineligibility for UC benefits is pending while the Department verifies that the claimant received benefits through the temporary federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. Separately, the Department continues to process new claims. In this regular workload category, most claimants wait fewer than six weeks for a decision on eligibility for UC benefits. In April 2023, L&I received 26,602 claims in its regular workload and distributed UC benefits totaling $110,479,338 to 74,141 eligible claimants.

L&I is also working aggressively to resolve the unprecedented number of fraud reports filed during the pandemic period of high unemployment. At the end of April, the number of outstanding fraud reports totaled 25,548 – down from 34,000 at the start of the Shapiro Administration in January.

In April, L&I served 50,999 individuals who called the UC helpline at 888-313-7284; 5,223 individuals through the UC chat service; and 17,033 individuals through email. Through the Department’s UC Connect program offering in-person customer service at Pennsylvania CareerLink^® locations, L&I served 3,516 individuals in April for a total of 40,673 since the program’s launch in May 2022.

Recent functional changes and upgrades to the UC program include:

• L&I encourages UC claimants to contact the Department through its convenient chat option, called PAULA. PAULA is built to answer the most frequently asked questions, including how to file for benefits, how to use a debit card, and how to complete the requirements for work searches. At any time, individuals can ask to speak to a live representative for help with checking a claim status, filing for weekly benefits, checking a payment status, changing personal information, or resolving questions about overpayments. Customer-service agents are available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• L&I has implemented an interface with the Integrity Data Hub (IDH), a multi-state data system established and funded by the United States Department of Labor and operated by the National Association of State Workforce Agencies. This tool mitigates fraud risk by comparing UC claims data against a variety of datasets, which will help the Department detect and prevent both eligibility fraud and identity fraud.

L&I reminds UC claimants of their responsibility to file weekly benefit certifications online or by using the department’s touch tone telephone service, called PAT, at 888-255-4728 (en Español 877-888-8104).

RAPID RESPONSE SERVICES

Rapid Response Services are available for businesses and workers in the event of job dislocation caused by a natural disaster, economic transition, planned layoff or closure through the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN). Rapid Response services are available to employers and employees at no cost. The Rapid Response Services Team provides businesses with a customizable approach to their specific business needs as challenges occur, which can include layoff aversion, coordination of business closure to maximize public and private resources, assisting with the re-employment of impacted workers, and other transitional services.

For the month of April, L&I provided Rapid Response Services to 36 employers and 820 workers. Since the start of the year, L&I’s Rapid Response Services team has supported 124 employers and 6,780 workers.

For more information on the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, please visit the website or follow L&I on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Shell has agreed to pay $10 million to resolve allegations that it polluted the air around its massive new petrochemical refinery in western Pennsylvania. The administration of Gov. Josh Shapiro announced the penalty Wednesday. Shell acknowledged the plant violated air emissions limits. The multibillion-dollar refinery near Pittsburgh opened in November, only to be shut down months later after Shell said it identified a problem with a system that’s designed to burn off unwanted gases. Shell said it has fixed the problems, and plans to restart the facility. The plant makes polyethylene, a plastic used in everything from consumer and food packaging to tires.

FILE – Law enforcement, and other first responders, gather outside Robb Elementary School following a shooting, May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. A criminal investigation in Texas over the hesitant police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting remains ongoing a year after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in  Uvalde. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills, File)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A criminal investigation in Texas over the hesitant police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting is still ongoing a year after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde. Wednesday marks one year since the deadliest school shooting in Texas history. The continuing investigation underlines the lasting fallout over the shooting and how the days after the attack were marred by authorities giving inaccurate and conflicting accounts about efforts made to stop a teenage gunman. The Uvalde school district permanently closed the Robb Elementary campus and plans for a new school are in the works. Schools in Uvalde will be closed Wednesday.

The entrance to Oliver Citywide Academy is empty after a shooting on Wednesday, May 24, 2023 in Pittsburgh. Authorities say a student shot and killed another student outside a school in Pittsburgh shortly before classes were due to start. Police say the alleged shooter is in custody, and that they recovered a gun. No other injuries were reported. (Justin Vellucci/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review via AP)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Authorities say a student was arrested in the shooting death of another student just outside a Pittsburgh school. Police say the shooting happened by the steps of Oliver Citywide Academy shortly before classes were due to start Wednesday morning. Officers found the victim with gunshot wounds in front of the school and he later died. Another student seen running from the scene with a gun was arrested and a firearm was found. A city spokesperson said most students were still on their way to the school when the shooting happened. Both the shooter and the victim were minors, but their specific ages were not immediately released.

FILE – A man uses a cellphone in New Orleans, Aug. 11, 2019. On Tuesday, May 23, 2023, attorneys general across the U.S. joined in a lawsuit against a telecommunications company accused of making more than 7.5 billion robocalls to people on the national Do Not Call Registry. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

PHOENIX (AP) — Attorneys general across the U.S. have joined a lawsuit against a telecommunications company accused of making more than 7.5 billion robocalls to people on the national Do Not Call Registry. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix against Avid Telecom, its owner and the company’s vice president. The lawsuit says Avid Telecom used spoofed or invalid caller ID numbers, including more than 8.4 million calls that appeared to be coming from government and law enforcement agencies as well as private companies. Avid Telecom’s owner has a phone listing in Tucson, Arizona, but didn’t return a call seeking comment on the lawsuit.

An automatic system drops pharmaceutical orders on a conveyor belt to be placed into boxes at Morris and Dickson Co., in Shreveport, Wednesday, July 13, 2016. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has allowed one of the nation’s largest wholesale drug distributors to keep shipping opioid painkillers for nearly four years after a judge recommended in 2018 it lose its license for its “cavalier disregard” of thousands of suspicious orders fueling the opioid crisis. (Henrietta Wildsmith/The Shreveport Times via AP)

SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has allowed one of the nation’s largest drug distributors to keep shipping addictive painkillers for nearly four years despite a judge’s recommendation to strip its license for turning a blind eye to thousands of suspicious opioid orders. The DEA did not respond to questions about its handling of Morris & Dickson Co. or the involvement of a key consultant the company had hired who is now the DEA’s second-in-command. But the delay has raised concerns about how the revolving door may be impacting the DEA’s mission to police drug companies blamed for thousands of overdose deaths.

FILE – A worker collects shopping carts in the parking lot of a Target store on June 9, 2021, in Highlands Ranch, Colo. Target is removing certain items from its stores and making other changes to its LGBTQ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month, after an intense backlash from some customers including violent confrontations with its workers. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Target is removing certain items from its stores and making other changes to its LGBTQ+ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month, after an intense backlash from some customers including violent confrontations with its workers. Target declined to confirm which items it was removing but among the ones that garnered the most attention were “tuck friendly” adult women’s swimsuits that allow trans women who have not had gender-affirming operations to conceal their private parts. Designs by Abprallen, a London-based company which designs and sells occult- and satanic-themed LGBTQ+ clothing and accessories, have also sparked a backlash.

FILE – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reacts to applause as he gives his State of the State address during a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives March 7, 2023, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Phil Sears, File)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to launch his 2024 presidential campaign on Wednesday. The 44-year-old Republican governor is an outspoken cultural conservative and long seen as Donald Trump’s leading rival for the Republican nomination. He plans to announce his decision in an online conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk. The audio-only event will be streamed on Twitter Spaces beginning at 6 p.m. EDT. DeSantis will join a crowded Republican contest to decide whether the party will move on from Trump in 2024 as it works to retake the White House from President Joe Biden.

Hershey, PA – Today, the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) and Dr. Robin Engel, Senior Vice President of the National Policing Institute, presented an analysis of data collected from all trooper-initiated traffic stops in 2022 across the Commonwealth. The data collection program is designed to identify patterns and trends in traffic stops and outcomes, and identify opportunities for improvement in policy, training, and supervision. Dr. Engel is a leading academic in the field of criminal justice and criminology, with expertise in empirical assessments of police behavior, police use of force, and police-community relations.

“Dr. Engel and her research team analyzed demographic and other information gathered from more than 440,000 trooper-initiated traffic stops last year,” said Colonel Christopher Paris, Commissioner of the PSP. “The data shows our department has made great progress in these outcomes over the years, and we’re proud of the work our troopers continue to do. We appreciate the partnership with the National Policing Institute as we move forward with one of the most comprehensive and high-quality data collection efforts in the country.”

“The Pennsylvania State Police should be commended for reestablishing their comprehensive, voluntary data collection system, and these findings should inspire confidence among Commonwealth residents toward the leadership and Troopers of the Pennsylvania State Police,” Dr. Engel said.

Among the key findings from the 2022 data analysis is that variables such as the reason for the stop and evidence discovered are the strongest predictors of post-stop outcomes, such as warnings, citations, arrests, and discretionary searches. The report showed no detectable, substantive racial or ethnic disparities in warnings, citations, or arrests during traffic stops.

Dr. Engel added, “PSP’s rate of contraband seizures during discretionary searches is among the highest in the nation. Our review of the PSP’s criminal interdiction training also suggests that their focus on both effective and equitable practices is a promising approach and serves as a national model.”

“This data is a valuable tool in our toolbox as we strive to carry out our duties with integrity, respect and trust in accordance with our department’s core values,” added Colonel Paris. “Coupled with continued improvements in training, and our enhanced, more user-friendly, citizen complaint procedures, this data will help guide us as we provide the professional police services that residents of this Commonwealth not only expect but deserve.”

The Pennsylvania State Police became one of the first police agencies to voluntarily collect traffic-stop information when the department first partnered with Dr. Engel in 1999 and continued voluntary reporting of traffic stops through 2010. The PSP reinitiated robust data collection in 2021 for all trooper-initiated traffic stops, with the initial year of the program focused on improving data collection and addressing data quality issues when identified.

Established in 1970, the National Policing Institute (formerly the National Police Foundation) is the oldest nationally known, nonpartisan, nonprofit, non-membership independent research organization dedicated to pursuing excellence through science and innovation in policing. As the country’s oldest police research organization, the National Policing Institute has learned that police practices should be based on scientific evidence about what works best, the paradigm of evidence-based policing.

The 2022 CDR report is available online at psp.pa.gov

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 24, 2023 10:16 A.M.

(Hopewell Township, PA) Anissa Klesser was selected at Tuesday night’s meeting to fill the unexpired term of Lori Mckittrick who resigned recently Ms. McKittrick served on the board for 14 years.