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IRS worker Christine Helquist joins a federal workers protest rally outside the Federal Building, Thursday, Jan., 10, 2019, in Ogden, Utah. Payday will come Friday without any checks for about 800,000 federal employees affected by the government shutdown, forcing workers to scale back spending, cancel trips, apply for unemployment benefits and take out loans to stay afloat.
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More than 2,000 Pa. federal employees ask for unemployment benefits

Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

More than 2,000 Pa. federal employees ask for unemployment benefits

Through the third week of a partial federal government shutdown, more than 2,300 federal workers across Pennsylvania have filed for unemployment benefits, a potential strain on the state’s unemployment system during its busiest time of the year. 

The rush of applications is a sign that federal employees — who work in “nonessential” departments like agriculture, commerce and transportation, housing and urban development — are bracing for the prospect of a lengthy shutdown.

On Friday, workers missed their first paychecks.

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Rebecca Maclean, a Highland Park resident and federal employee at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, filed for unemployment Dec. 28. She saw it as short-term way to cover bills.

The exterior of Riverview Towers is pictured Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, in Squirrel Hill. Riverview Towers is a subsidized senior housing complex. The ongoing partial government shutdown is causing problems for them due to delayed payments and problems getting timely approvals from HUD.
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Subsidized housing complexes in Squirrel Hill, elsewhere, feel the pinch of shutdown

“This would be a good cushion so we’re not scrambling for a few weeks,” said Ms. Maclean. She said the process that took her about a half hour on the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry’s website. She’s still waiting for the debit card to arrive in the mail.

“Lucky my family has savings,” she added. “This missed paycheck is unfortunate, but we’re OK right now.”

The shutdown has closed nine federal departments and dozens of agencies since Dec. 22. There appeared to be no progress Friday in negotiations over the impasse, which centers on President Donald J. Trump’s demand for some $5 billion to build a wall on the southern border.

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It’s uncharted territory for many federal workers and also for the state’s unemployment offices.

Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale warned this week of a potential “dire” situation if it drags on.

Mr. DePasquale said the situation could result in “extra costs to taxpayers or a disruption to our economy. While I’m glad the state is ready to assist, the unemployment compensation system was not designed to handle what has turned into a hostage situation.”

According to the state labor department, about 1,200 unemployment claims were filed by federal employees during the first two weeks of the shutdown — from Dec. 22 to Jan. 5 — the most recent full-week data available.

Last year during that same time period, there were 142. 

The state said there had been a surge in filings in the last week, but complete data wasn’t yet available.

The influx of federal claims may be contributing to longer busy signals for claimants calling the state’s unemployment compensation call centers. Average wait times rose to 35 minutes and 24 seconds for the week ending Jan. 5, compared 27 minutes and 59 seconds during the same period a year ago, the labor department reported.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment call centers are operating with significantly fewer staff members than in recent years after the state shut down three centers in 2016 and laid off hundreds of claims processors.

A union official representing call center workers said on Friday there appeared to be no major strain on resources yet. This tends to be a busy time of year as seasonal workers file for benefits.

Not all federal workers may qualify for unemployment checks.

Thousands are in jobs that are deemed too “essential” to send them home. Those employees — working in prisons, airports, weather forecasting centers and national security posts — are required to come to work without pay.

State officials said those workers are not eligible for unemployment benefits.

The state has published online guidance for federal workers, which can be found at: www.uc.pa.gov. 

For those who can get the help, it might get them through an uncertain period.

Unemployment checks “would at least give them a little bit of relief,” said Phil Glover, national vice president for the American Federation of Government Employees, one of the largest federal employee unions. It represents 31,000 employees in Pennsylvania and Delaware.

“We’re basically advising people to do that if they’re furloughed” and need money to make ends meet, Mr. Glover said. “If they’re working without pay, they cannot file for unemployment.”

When the shutdown began in December, the union’s members were hopeful the dispute would get resolved in the matter of days — like the previous two shutdowns in 2018, Mr. Glover said. 

“In this case, as the second week passed, we started to notify members they really ought to look at their financial situations,” he said.

For workers who get unemployment benefits, the issue of back pay is another wrinkle.

During previous shutdowns, Congress has authorized back pay for workers who were furloughed or required to work without pay during the period the government could not issue paychecks. In those cases, the furloughs were too short to trigger unemployment benefits.

On Friday, the U.S. House approved a bill to grant back pay to federal workers, passing a measure that had already cleared the Senate. 

President Trump pledged to sign a bill — when the government reopens — meaning workers should eventually see the paychecks they’re currently missing.

At that point, furloughed workers may have to pay back any unemployment benefits they received.

Daniel Moore: dmoore@post-gazette.com, 412-263-2743 and Twitter @PGdanielmoore

First Published: January 11, 2019, 11:30 p.m.

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IRS worker Christine Helquist joins a federal workers protest rally outside the Federal Building, Thursday, Jan., 10, 2019, in Ogden, Utah. Payday will come Friday without any checks for about 800,000 federal employees affected by the government shutdown, forcing workers to scale back spending, cancel trips, apply for unemployment benefits and take out loans to stay afloat.  (Rick Bowmer/Associated Press)
Rick Bowmer/Associated Press
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