The battle for unemployment

[jpingra5]

Yeah, so i'ts my very first time filing for unemployment in over the 10 years I have been legally on the books. And sure enough I encounter problems, that my friends haven't even though they been riding this train for 2+ years now. They have all my stuff messed up and I have to register for this class when I'm already registered (this is my favorite part of it). So 10 years ago I found my career job off of Career Link PA, which is funded by the state of Pennsylvania. So of course, I had to register with them and they took my SSN and all that. So today, I got a notice about registering with them because this is my first time on unemployment. I went to do it and they seen my SSN already in their database. So I thought that was no biggie, yeah okay my bad. I called the "hot-line" and they said they would send my "PIN" out to my last address they had. Well........I said that was 10 years ago and since then I have moved, had children and bought a house. So yeah...........I'm sure that will not work.....but wait..... quoting the lady on the phone "Unless you can provide me with your PIN number, we cannot complete your request." So pretty much, because I do not remember my PIN from 10 years ago I am f'd in the A for this one. So......I guess I'll just throw my middle finger at the government and collect my nontaxable cash income from side-work while I collect unemployment if I every get it......sooner or later.

Sorry but the wife don't wanna hear it so somebody has toooooooo!!!

PS>

I worked hard PA, please just stop jerking me around and pay me the unemployment that you didn't deny all these other people for who worked less than i have and are still collecting......

[jpingra5]

As far as them sending my "PIN" out. They refuse to take any new address from. These are the words straight from their mouth " We will only mail the PIN/Keystone ID to the registered home address " and I was like there is no way that you can expect everyone filing for this to have them same home address for at least 10 years. And I got the same response!!!!!!! Just when I was trying to have faith, it got shot down.

- From the never ending hard knock life of the working man........

[2oodoor]

I think this is a technique used by so many administrative processors.. Like warranty claims, insurance claims , billng depts, preapprovals etc, they hope you give up and don't persist due to aggrivation and stress.
I guess there is another perspective too and that is fraud prevention, making it difficult to pull a fast one. In that case I guess we should be gratefull :(

[Dr_Snooz]

There's nothing like not having insurance when you really need it. Especially when you've already paid for it. I hope you're able to get it worked out. I was surprised last year when Congress passed an unemployment "extension" that in reality ended up shortening my unemployment payments by almost 5 months. There's nothing like having a massive cash flow crisis sent special delivery from Washington when you're out of work. The icing on the cake was that my final payment also came with a very intrusive bunch of forms too.

In other countries where the formal economy is grossly mismanaged, a flourishing informal economy develops. Call it a black market or a gray market, underground economy or whatever, it's just what people do to get the things they need to survive. The current economy is driving a lot of people underground here in the US as well. That choice is not without risks, however. If you are doing construction type work, be aware of your state laws regarding contractor licensing. Here in California, we have an entire division of the licensing board devoted to entrapping unlicensed contractors. They have undercover agents and teams of officers, etc. That money could just as easily be spent on training and partnerships to help unlicensed contractors get licensed, but that's not how we do things here anymore. Anyway, keep a low profile and be sure to stay within the legal loopholes, whatever you do.

Also be aware that the IRS can access your bank records in an audit. If those records show an ongoing series of deposits that never got reported as income, you will be in trouble. So stick to cash in your work as much as possible and don't put it in the bank when you get it.

[Oldblueaccord]

Since you are unemployed make your new "job" to get it. Go there everyday, call everyday, talk to someone everyday. Be calm about it but be persistent.

[niles]

I was on Oregon unemployment a few years ago for 6 months. Long story short, my ex-employer disputed, won, and I got to pay it all back to the state plus interest. It's the last time I will ask for assistance from the government.

[Oldblueaccord]

Pay them 10$ a month.