Say you are self-employed or a gig worker and completed step one of filing for the pandemic unemployment assistance fund.
You get your denial letter and are ready for step 2—just to see that your account can’t be located!
It turns out--- you may be filing incorrectly.
Guy Miner
“I filed for unemployment in March, and received the UC-58 denial. Today, I tried to create a PUA account and received an error that my account could not be located.”
Well the good news is if you got a UC-58- you filed step one correctly. However, the translation over to the second step gets a bit messy. The DOL says their research shows the majority of the time this is due to human error.
Some situations include:
The person used one name when filing in the regular site system, then had a typo or used a different name when filing in the PUA system.
Nancy Steffens at the DOL says it seems crazy, but it's happening more than you would think!
Same with the Social Security number. A claimant makes a mistake, or uses a different number. This would cause the PUA account to be disconnected from step 1 of filing through state accounts.
The DOL says you should not file again.
Here is what you should do instead:
Go to the Online Assistance Center on the PUA system (filectui.com) and use one of the three links to ask for assistance The three links are:
- My PUA Account is Locked
- I Forgot My PUA User ID
- Other issues Not Addressed Above
I’ve been taking emails like these and sending them directly over to Nancy Steffens the Department of Labor.
She says its crucial to make sure your identifying information and banking information is correct.
If you entered the wrong banking information- you will get a letter asking you to click on the VOID 11 link on the online assistance center at filectui.com. This allows you to correct your banking info and send it to the agency for correction.
Lastly- make sure you file every week, so your account does not get placed on hold! This happens automatically as an integrity measure. The DOL does not want to accidentally issue an over payment if you have actually gone back to work, which would cause you not to file for a week.
You can begin filing on Sundays, which is when most people file a continued claim. Use the green button on filectui.com.
The hours of operation are Sunday 12am-11pm, Monday-Friday 7am-6pm.
If you have a question, it has likely already been answered.
If your question on unemployment hasn’t been answered, send us an email at share61@fox61.com.
You will get a reply directly from Taylor DiChello.
