If employers don’t want to challenge the claim, they aren’t required to respond. If they don’t respond within a certain period of time (depending on the state), then the claim is determined to be unchallenged and can proceed. However: several states, including PA and MA, do not have an automated system to move claims to the next step if employers don’t respond. Thus, in times of high volume, claims can get stuck in this step for a very long time.