For gig workers and the self-employed, here’s some important Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program extension information:

Filing for the additional 11 claim weeks opened Friday.

Follow the same process as before to log onto your dashboard and claim the additional weeks, which will be added to your account.

You must file by Jan. 29. If you miss this deadline, you will need to email ucpua@pa.gov to request backdating.

You will be able to file for the weeks of Jan. 2, 9, 16 and 23.

If you no longer had claim weeks or did not file for the week ending Dec. 26, 2020, for any reason, you must reopen your claim before you can proceed. To do this, log onto your dashboard and click on the link to reopen a claim.

If you tried to open a new claim while the PUA program was inactive, you will have error codes that the unemployment compensation staff must fix before you can proceed.

If you are a new, first-time PUA claimant opening a claim in 2021, you cannot yet file. The unemployment compensation office is still adding 2020 as a base wage year in the system and will notify applicants when you are able to file for benefits.

Claimants will automatically receive the extra $300 weekly Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, and do not need to take any action to get this boost.

Claimants who have questions about their enrollment in PUA should email ucpua@pa.gov.