Bill Text: PA HB2400 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Further providing for definitions, for referral to employment offices, for qualifications required to secure compensation and for ineligibility for compensation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 44-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-09-22 - Re-committed to APPROPRIATIONS [HB2400 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-HB2400-Amended.html

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PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 3507 PRINTER'S NO. 4310
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 2400 Session of2010
INTRODUCED BY GERGELY, BELFANTI, BARBIN, BOYLE, BRENNAN, BRIGGS, BURNS, BUXTON, CALTAGIRONE, DALEY, DePASQUALE, DERMODY, EACHUS, FABRIZIO, GALLOWAY, GIBBONS, GOODMAN, HARHAI, HARKINS, W. KELLER, MANN, MATZIE, McCALL, McGEEHAN, MELIO, MUNDY, MURPHY, PARKER, PASHINSKI, READSHAW, SANTONI, SEIP, SIPTROTH, K. SMITH, SOLOBAY, STABACK, STURLA, WANSACZ, WHEATLEY, WHITE, YUDICHAK, KOTIK, JOSEPHS, YOUNGBLOOD AND KORTZ, APRIL 12, 2010
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON LABOR RELATIONS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, SEPTEMBER 22, 2010
AN ACT
Amending the act of December 5, 1936 (2nd Sp.Sess., 1937
P.L.2897, No.1), entitled "An act establishing a system of
unemployment compensation to be administered by the
Department of Labor and Industry and its existing and newly
created agencies with personnel (with certain exceptions)
selected on a civil service basis; requiring employers to
keep records and make reports, and certain employers to pay
contributions based on payrolls to provide moneys for the
payment of compensation to certain unemployed persons;
providing procedure and administrative details for the
determination, payment and collection of such contributions
and the payment of such compensation; providing for
cooperation with the Federal Government and its agencies;
creating certain special funds in the custody of the State
Treasurer; and prescribing penalties," further providing for
definitions, for referral to employment offices, for <--
qualifications required to secure compensation and for
ineligibility for compensation.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 4(a) of the act of December 5, 1936 (2nd
Sp.Sess., 1937 P.L.2897, No.1), known as the Unemployment
Compensation Law, amended July 10, 1980 (P.L.521, No.108), is
amended and the section is amended by adding subsections to
read:
Section 4. Definitions.--The following words and phrases, as
used in this act, shall have the following meanings, unless the
context clearly requires otherwise.
(a) "Base year" means:
(1) Except as provided under paragraph (2), the first four
of the last five completed calendar quarters immediately
preceding the first day of an individual's benefit year.
(2) If an individual's base year determined in accordance
with paragraph (1) contains insufficient wages to qualify the
individual for a weekly benefit rate or contains fewer than
sixteen (16) credit weeks, the individual's base year shall
consist of the most recent four completed calendar quarters
preceding the first day of the individual's benefit year. The
calendar quarters included in a base year under this paragraph
may not be used at any time after their inclusion for the
purposes of this paragraph in the calculation of benefits for a
subsequent benefit year.
(a.1) "Abuse" means one or more of the following: <--
(1) attempting Attempting to cause or causing physical <--
harm;. <--
(2) placing Placing another in fear of imminent serious <--
physical harm;. <--
(3) causing Causing another to engage involuntarily in <--
sexual relations by force, threat or duress or engaging or
threatening to engage in sexual activity with a dependent
child;. <--
(4) engaging Engaging in mental abuse, which includes <--
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threats, intimidation or acts designed to induce terror;. <--
(5) depriving Depriving another of medical care, housing, <--
food or other necessities of life; and. <--
(6) restraining Restraining the liberty of another. <--
* * *
(h.2) "Disability" means one or more of the following: <--
(1) mental and physical disability; <--
(2) permanent and temporary disability; and
(3) partial and total disability.
(1) Mental disability. <--
(2) Physical disability.
(3) Permanent disability.
(4) Temporary disability.
(5) Partial disability.
(6) Total disability.
(h.3) "Domestic Violence" means abuse committed against a
claimant or member of the claimant's immediate family by:
(1) a current or former spouse of the claimant;
(2) a person with whom the claimant shares a child in
common;
(3) a person who is cohabiting with or has cohabited with
the claimant;
(4) a person who is related by blood or marriage to the
claimant; or
(5) a person with whom the claimant has or had a dating or
engagement relationship.
* * *
(m.4) "Immediate Family" means the claimant's spouse,
parents, grandparents, siblings and children.
* * *
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(o.1) "Sexual Assault" means sexual assault as described in
18 Pa.C.S. § 3124.1 (relating to sexual assault) against a
claimant or a member of the claimant's immediate family.
* * *
Section 2. Section 212 of the act, added December 9, 2002 <--
(P.L.1330, No.156), is amended to read:
Section 212. [Referral to Employment Offices] Employment and
Training Services.--(a) The department shall refer all
claimants [eligible for compensation to employment offices for
reemployment services.] for employment and training services
under the Wagner-Peyser Act (48 Stat. 113, 29 U.S.C. § 49 et
seq.) and the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (Public Law
105-220, 112 Stat. 936).
(b) (1) Contemporaneous with the registration required by
section 315(a)(1) of this act, each employer shall register with
the PA CareerLink system, employment services or their
equivalent. The registration shall be made in a manner
determined by the department and shall include all information
required by the department. Each employer shall renew such
registration at such times as the department requires.
(2) Each employer shall register all of its job openings
available in this Commonwealth with the PA CareerLink system,
employment services or their equivalent. The registration shall
be made in a manner determined by the department and shall
include all information required by the department.
(3) The department and the PA CareerLink system, employment
services or their equivalent shall utilize the employer and job
information provided pursuant to clauses (1) and (2) in their
efforts to make employment services available to claimants and
job seekers.
20100HB2400PN4310 - 4 -
Section 3. Section 401(b) of the act, amended July 9, 1976
(P.L.842, No.147), is amended and the section is amended by
adding a clause to read:
Section 401. Qualifications Required to Secure
Compensation.--Compensation shall be payable to any employe who
is or becomes unemployed, and who--
* * *
(b) Has registered [for work at, and thereafter continued to
report to an employment office in accordance with such
regulations as the secretary may prescribe,] with the department
to utilize employment and training services and has provided all
information required by the department in order to determine
appropriate services for the claimant and facilitate utilization
of available services, including the claimant's work history,
education and work-related training, except that the secretary
may by regulation waive or alter [either or both] any of the
requirements of this clause as to individuals attached to
regular jobs and as to such other types of cases or situations
with respect to which he finds that compliance with such
requirements would be oppressive or would be inconsistent with
the purposes of the act: Provided, however, That no such
regulation shall conflict with section four hundred and one (c)
of this act;
* * *
(h) (1) Has, during the week for which compensation is
claimed, made an active search for suitable employment. For
purposes of this subsection, a claimant has made an active
search for suitable employment if the claimant has:
(i) utilized employment and training services administered
by or in cooperation with the department, including the services
20100HB2400PN4310 - 5 -
of the PA CareerLink system, employment services or their
equivalent;
(ii) participated in training approved by the secretary; or
(iii) made other reasonable efforts to secure employment.
(2) For purposes of clause (1)(i), the department shall
require the claimant to post a resume on the database of the PA
CareerLink system, employment services or their equivalent,
unless the claimant is seeking work in an employment sector in
which resumes are not commonly used, and to apply for
appropriate positions listed on the database which offer
employment and wages similar to those the claimant had prior to
claimant's unemployment and which are within a forty-five (45)
minute commuting distance. The PA CareerLink system, employment
services or their equivalent shall provide documentation, as the
secretary deems appropriate, to the Pennsylvania Unemployment
Compensation Service Center system so the system can conduct the
necessary cross reference checks.
(3) For purposes of clause (1)(iii), a claimant has made
other reasonable efforts to secure employment if the claimant's
efforts include actions comparable to those actions by which
jobs have been found by others in the community and labor market
in which the claimant is seeking employment.
(4) The secretary may by regulation waive or alter the
requirements of this subsection in cases or situations with
respect to which the secretary finds that compliance with such
requirements would be oppressive or would be inconsistent with
the purposes of this act.
(5) The requirements of this subsection do not apply to any
week in which the claimant is in training approved under section
236(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-618, 19 U.S.C.
20100HB2400PN4310 - 6 -
§ 2101 et seq.) or any week in which the claimant is required to
participate in reemployment services under section 402(j).
(6) The requirements of this subsection do not apply to a
claimant who is laid off for lack of work and advised by the
employer of the date on which the claimant will return to work.
(7) To the extent that the requirements of this subsection
are inconsistent with the requirements of section 403-A(b) and
(f) of this act, the requirement of section 403-A(b) and (f) of
this act shall prevail for purposes of compensation under
Article IV-A of this act.
(8) An employer may not seek to disqualify a claimant from
receiving compensation pursuant to this subsection if the
employer has not registered with the PA CareerLink system,
employment services or their equivalent and has not registered
all of its job openings available in this Commonwealth during
the most recent one-year period with the PA CareerLink system,
employment services or their equivalent, as required by section
212(b) of this act.
Section 2 4. Section 402(a), (a.1) and (b) of the act, <--
amended or added July 10, 1980 (P.L.521, No.108) and October 22,
1981 (P.L.301, No.106), are amended to read:
Section 402. Ineligibility for Compensation.--An employe
shall be ineligible for compensation for any week--
(a) In which his unemployment is due to failure, without
good cause, either to apply for suitable work at such time and
in such manner as the department may prescribe, or to accept
suitable work when offered to him by the employment office or by
any employer, irrespective of whether or not such work is in
"employment" as defined in this act: Provided, That such
employer notifies the employment office of such offer within
20100HB2400PN4310 - 7 -
seven (7) days after the making thereof[; however this]. This
subsection shall not cause a disqualification of a waiting week
or benefits under any of the following circumstances: [when work
is offered by his employer and he is not required to accept the
offer pursuant to the terms of the labor-management contract or
agreement, or pursuant to an established employer plan, program
or policy: Provided further, That a claimant shall not be
disqualified for refusing suitable work when he is in training
approved under section 236(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974.]
(1) The work is offered by his employer and he is not
required to accept the offer pursuant to the terms of the labor-
management contract or agreement, or pursuant to an established
employer plan, program or policy.
(2) The claimant is in training approved under section
236(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974.
(3) The average number of hours of work per week offered to
the claimant exceeds twenty hours, if the claimant worked less
than his full-time work for a majority of the weeks in the base
year in which the claimant worked.
[(a.1) In which his unemployment is due to failure to accept
an offer of suitable full-time work in order to pursue seasonal
or part-time employment.]
(b) In which his unemployment is due to voluntarily leaving
work [without cause of a necessitous and compelling nature],
irrespective of whether or not such work is in "employment" as
defined in this act, except as follows: [Provided, That]
(1) A claimant shall not be disqualified for voluntarily
leaving work for cause of a necessitous and compelling nature.
For purposes of this paragraph, a voluntary leaving work because
of a disability if the employer is able to provide other
20100HB2400PN4310 - 8 -
suitable work, shall be deemed not a cause of a necessitous and
compelling nature[: And provided further, That no].
(2) No employe shall be deemed to be ineligible under this
subsection where as a condition of continuing in employment such
employe would be required to join or remain a member of a
company union or to resign from or refrain from joining any bona
fide labor organization, or to accept wages, hours or conditions
of employment not desired by a majority of the employes in the
establishment or the occupation, or would be denied the right of
collective bargaining under generally prevailing conditions, and
that in determining whether or not an employe has left his work
voluntarily without cause of a necessitous and compelling
nature, the department shall give consideration to the same
factors, insofar as they are applicable, provided, with respect
to the determination of suitable work under section four (t)[:
And provided further, That the].
(3) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply in the
event of a stoppage of work which exists because of a labor
dispute within the meaning of subsection (d). [Provided further,
That no]
(4) No otherwise eligible claimant shall be denied benefits
for any week in which his unemployment is due to exercising the
option of accepting a layoff, from an available position
pursuant to a labor-management contract agreement, or pursuant
to an established employer plan, program or policy[: Provided
further, That a].
(5) A claimant shall not be disqualified for voluntarily
leaving work, which is not suitable employment to enter training
approved under section 236(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974. For
purposes of this [subsection] paragraph the term "suitable
20100HB2400PN4310 - 9 -
employment" means with respect to a claimant, work of a
substantially equal or higher skill level than the claimant's
past "adversely affected employment" (as defined in section 247
of the Trade Act of 1974), and wages for such work at not less
than eighty per centum of the worker's "average weekly wage" (as
defined in section 247 of the Trade Act of 1974).
(6) A claimant shall not be disqualified for voluntarily
leaving work due to the need to address the physical, <--
psychological or legal effects of domestic violence or sexual
assault. For the purposes of this paragraph, the claimant shall
not be required to provide a protective order or police record
to verify domestic violence or sexual assault. if the individual <--
reasonably believes that due to a domestic violence situation,
such individual's continued employment would jeopardize the
safety of the individual, or of any member of the individual's
immediate family. The domestic violence situation shall be
verified by reasonable and confidential documentation as the
department may require, to include:
(i) A statement supporting the existence of recent domestic
violence from a qualified professional from whom the individual
has sought assistance, such as a counselor, shelter worker,
member of the clergy, attorney or health care worker.
(ii) Any type of evidence that reasonably proves domestic
violence.
The department may not require as evidence an active or recently
issued protective or other order documenting domestic violence,
or a police record documenting recent domestic violence,
provided that a claimant may present such documentation as
evidence.
(7) A claimant shall not be disqualified for voluntarily
20100HB2400PN4310 - 10 -
leaving work to care for a member of the claimant's immediate
family who requires care by another individual due to an illness
or disability.
(i) For purposes of this paragraph, the department may not
require verification of the illness or disability by a medical
doctor if other sources of verification are available.
(ii) If the claimant terminates his employment, this
paragraph shall apply to the claimant only if the claimant made
a reasonable effort to maintain the employment relationship
prior to terminating employment.
(8) A claimant shall not be disqualified for voluntarily
leaving work due to the need to accompany the claimant's spouse
to a place from which it is impractical for the claimant to
commute and due to a change in location of the spouse's
employment.
* * *
Section 3 5. The following shall apply: <--
(1) The amendment of section 4(a) of the act shall apply
to claimants whose benefit years begin on or after July 1, <--
2010 January 1, 2011. <--
(2) The following provisions shall apply to
determinations of eligibility for weeks of unemployment
beginning on or after July 1, 2010:
(i) The addition of section 4(a.1), (h.2), (h.3),
(m.4) and (o.1) of the act.
(ii) The amendment of section 402(a), (a.1) and (b)
of the act.
Section 4 6. This act shall take effect immediately. as <--
follows:
(1) The amendment or addition of sections 212 and 401(b)
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and (h) of the act shall take effect January 1, 2012.
(2) The remainder of this act shall take effect
immediately.
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