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    Relief from Charges

    When an individual is paid unemployment compensation (UC), each employer that paid wages to the individual during the base year is charged for the benefits the individual receives, unless the employer is granted relief from benefit charges.

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    Relief from Charges

    Should I Request Relief from Charges?

    Section 302.1(a) of the PA UC Law provides that employers may request relief from certain benefit charges. Upon receipt of a timely request, the Department of Labor & Industry can grant relief from charges for UC benefits that are paid to a claimant who

    • Left work for the employer without good cause attributable to the employment,
    • Was discharged by the employer for willful misconduct,
    • Was separated from the employer for reasons that involve fault on the part of the claimant,
    • Was discharged by the employer for failure to submit and/or pass a drug or alcohol test conducted pursuant to an established substance abuse policy,
    • Is still working for the employer in a part-time job that is continuing without material change or,
    • Was separated from the employer due to a cessation of business of 18 months or less caused by a disaster.

    To request disaster-related relief from charges, an employer should include the following information in a letter along with the completed Form UC-44FR:

    • The specific disaster situation,
    • The date that the disaster occurred,
    • Where the disaster occurred (to indicate whether or not it affected the employer's place of business),
    • A brief description of the disaster which forced the suspension of business activity, and
    • When the business is expected to reopen.

    If an individual’s unemployment is directly caused by a major natural disaster declared by the President pursuant to section 102(1) of the Disaster Relief Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-606) and such individual would have been eligible for disaster unemployment assistance as provided in section 240 of that act with respect to such unemployment but for the receipt of unemployment compensation, the employer may request relief from charges and may receive such relief to a maximum of the eight weeks immediately following the President’s declaration of emergency.

    Employers are required to prove they qualify for relief from charges in any of the above situations.

    A request for relief from charges is different from an appeal regarding a claimant's eligibility and must be filed separately.

    Section 302.1(c) of the PA UC Law says employers can get relief from charges automatically in certain cases. These include:

    • When an employee quits for reasons not related to work (Section 402(b))
    • When an employee is fired for willful misconduct (Sections 402(e) and 402(e.1))
    • When an employee leaves due to domestic violence (Section 402.7)

    This means that if a decision is made about one of these situations and the employer qualifies for relief, the system will grant it automatically—no request is needed—once the decision is final.

    However, if an appeal is filed, the relief will not be granted until all appeals are final.

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