Some of Pennsylvania’s CareerLink offices, which provide reemployment and training assistance for job seekers, are reopening for in-person visits next week. But the offices are not offering one service that many people are still looking to get help with: unemployment compensation.
PA CareerLink said individuals would not be able to make an appointment to receive help relating to unemployment compensation and the offices will not have the “courtesy phones” that workers can usually use to contact the unemployment office.
Those decisions were made to protect the health and safety of customers and staff, and to promote social distancing and other COVID-19 safety guidelines, the organization said in a press release.
PA CareerLink does not process unemployment benefits and cannot offer advice specific to an individual’s claim, according to information on its website. But, in the past, many workers have turned to the organization to get help filing for benefits or reaching staffers at the unemployment center who can provide assistance.
The pandemic has sent unemployment rates up since it hit earlier this year. Nationally, 13.4 million people are still receiving traditional jobless benefits. In Pennsylvania, officials say the unemployment centers have processed about 97% of the claims it received between March 15 and the end of July, but the other 3% amounts to more than 49,000 cases.
Though the unemployment centers are working through the backlog of cases received in record numbers this spring as COVID-19 shuttered many businesses at once, workers filing for compensation still say they struggle to get through the system and to reach staffers who can answer questions.
Amid the pandemic, Gov. Tom Wolf temporarily waived the requirement for individuals filing for unemployment compensation to show they were actively seeking work, a process that PA CareerLink was involved with in the past.
Starting Monday, Sept. 21, job seekers can visit a CareerLink office to get help with:
- copying and faxing documents for the unemployment compensation office
- employer services
- completing program paperwork for Workforce Innovation programs
- educational assessments
- and use of the PA CareerLink resource room for job search activity
Virtually, CareerLink will still offer many resources it has been providing digitally due to COVID-19, including adult-education classes, career counseling, job-search assistance, resume assistance and training programs.
The offices, which are open by appointment only from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., are limiting capacity and adjusting protocols to comply with COVID-19 safety requirements. Each visitor will have their temperature taken, will be required to wear a mask and will be asked whether they are experiencing any symptoms before entering the building.
The Career Resources Center will be limited to six visitors at a time and every other computer will be blocked off. Those helping job seekers in the center will have a laser pointer to assist with any computer-related issues while maintaining a safe distance.
To schedule an appointment at the Downtown office, call 412-552-7100 or email info.pgh@careerlinkpittsburgh.org. For the Allegheny East office, call 412-436-2225 or email info.allegheny@careerlinkpittsburgh.org.
In the same week that the offices will reopen to the public, PA CareerLink announced it will also decommission a former web address that workers have used to access the website.
The PA CareerLink web address replaced the JobGateway web address in 2018. Since then, the website has automatically redirected users who arrived at the JobGateway address to the new site.
On Sept. 25, the JobGateway web address will be decommissioned and the redirect will no longer be available.
Lauren Rosenblatt: lrosenblatt@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1565.
First Published: September 15, 2020, 4:38 p.m.