PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 4421 PRINTER'S NO. 4572
No. 2870 Session of 2004
INTRODUCED BY BOYD AND ARMSTRONG, SEPTEMBER 29, 2004
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON LABOR RELATIONS, HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, OCTOBER 20, 2004
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of December 5, 1936 (2nd Sp.Sess., 1937
2 P.L.2897, No.1), entitled "An act establishing a system of
3 unemployment compensation to be administered by the
4 Department of Labor and Industry and its existing and newly
5 created agencies with personnel (with certain exceptions)
6 selected on a civil service basis; requiring employers to
7 keep records and make reports, and certain employers to pay
8 contributions based on payrolls to provide moneys for the
9 payment of compensation to certain unemployed persons;
10 providing procedure and administrative details for the
11 determination, payment and collection of such contributions
12 and the payment of such compensation; providing for
13 cooperation with the Federal Government and its agencies;
14 creating certain special funds in the custody of the State
15 Treasurer; and prescribing penalties," further providing for
16 State Unemployment Compensation Advisory Council.
17 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
18 hereby enacts as follows:
19 Section 1. Section 204.1(k) of the act of December 5, 1936
20 (2nd Sp.Sess., 1937 P.L.2897, No.1), known as the Unemployment
21 Compensation Law, added July 1, 1985 (P.L.96, No.30), is amended
22 to read:
23 Section 204.1. State Unemployment Compensation Advisory
24 Council.--* * *
1 (k) The department shall also prepare and present to the
2 Governor and the General Assembly, on or before the first day of
3 March of each year, an evaluation of the financial operations of
4 the unemployment compensation program, together with its
5 findings and recommendations for developing and improving
6 solvency of the fund and adjusting and regulating income and
7 disbursements in the fields of contributions and benefits. Such
8 report shall include the presentation of the current economic
9 trends, statistics and analyses on which the evaluation is
10 based. This evaluation shall include all of the following:
11 (1) Statistics relating to population, labor force and
12 covered labor force.
13 (2) Claims data.
14 (3) Payment data.
15 (4) Minimum, maximum, average weekly benefit amount and
16 minimum earnings requirement.
17 (5) Federal-State extended benefits program.
18 (6) Number of nonmonetary determinations for unemployment
19 benefits.
20 (7) Experience of reimbursable and contributory employers.
21 (8) Tax rates by industry, taxable payroll, total payroll
22 and number of employers.
23 (9) Disbursements from the unemployment fund.
24 (10) Income of the unemployment fund.
25 (11) Difference between income and disbursements of the
26 unemployment fund.
27 (12) Status of the unemployment fund.
28 (13) Experience rating factors of insured employers.
29 (14) Net reserve or deficit of active employer accounts.
30 (15) Reserve ratio contributions received.
20040H2870B4572 - 2 -
1 (16) Benefit ratio contributions received.
2 (17) Number of claimants who, in the most recent full fiscal
3 year and in the previous year, filed a claim.
4 (18) Average annual claim duration during the past ten
5 fiscal years.
6 (19) (i) Number of claimants who were reviewed for failure
7 to be available for work.
8 (ii) Number of claimants who were denied further
9 eligibility:
10 (A) For failure to be available for work.
11 (B) For not meeting work search requirements.
12 (20) Number of statements from individuals regarding why
13 they are unemployed made available to their employer.
14 (21) To what degree are new hire reports utilized in
15 detecting and preventing improper payments.
16 (22) Number of improper payments identified in the previous
17 fiscal year, including faulty overpayments and nonfault-
18 recoupable and nonfault-nonrecoupable overpayments.
19 (23) Number of appeals filed each fiscal year during the
20 past ten years.
21 (24) Breakdown of how appeals were decided each fiscal year
22 during the past ten years.
23 (25) Number of appeals overturned each fiscal year during
24 the past ten years.
25 (26) Amount spent by the State on employment services in the
26 previous fiscal year, including both Workforce Investment Act
27 funds and the Trade Readjustment Act/Trade Adjustment Assistance
28 as in the Trade Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-618, 19 U.S.C. § 2101
29 et seq.).
30 (27) (i) Number of Unemployment Compensation of 1998 (Public
20040H2870B4572 - 3 -
1 Law 105-220, 112 Stat. 936) claimants referred to CareerLink the
2 previous fiscal year.
3 (ii) Percentages of those referred who ultimately utilized
4 the CareerLink services, and what types of services were
5 utilized. Amount of Workforce Investment Act money spent on
6 training for unemployment compensation claimants.
7 (28) (i) Number of unemployment compensation claimants who
8 left training.
9 (ii) Number of unemployment compensation claimants who had
10 left training and who become employed, and within what
11 timeframe.
12 (iii) Number of unemployment compensation claimants who
13 completed the course of training.
14 (iv) Number of "completers" who became employed and within
15 what timeframe.
16 (29) Number of new hires who were reported in the State in
17 the previous fiscal year.
18 (30) (i) Number of available positions posted with the
19 CareerLink.
20 (ii) Number of positions filled through the CareerLink.
21 (iii) Average time to fill the positions.
22 (31) (i) Number of job referrals made by the CareerLink.
23 (ii) Average length of time it took to refer a claimant to a
24 potential job.
25 (32) (i) Number of employers who came to CareerLink asking
26 for potential job referrals and interviews with candidates.
27 (ii) Number of employers who came back to the system.
28 (33) (I) NUMBER OF AUDITS OF EMPLOYERS COMPLETED DURING THE <--
29 PAST TEN FISCAL YEARS, AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL EMPLOYERS.
30 (II) NUMBER OF AUDITS DURING THE PAST TEN FISCAL YEARS THAT
20040H2870B4572 - 4 -
1 FOUND ERROR AND/OR INTENTIONAL MISREPORTING BY THE EMPLOYER.
2 (III) NUMBER OF EMPLOYES FOUND DURING THE PAST TEN FISCAL
3 YEARS TO BE MISCLASSIFIED IN THE AUDITS.
4 (IV) INFORMATION ON ANY AUDITS OF SPECIFIC INDUSTRIES THAT
5 HAVE SHOWN A HIGH RATE OF MISCLASSIFICATION OR ANY OTHER FORM OF
6 UNDERREPORTING.
7 (34) (I) TOTAL AMOUNT OF OUTSTANDING BACK UNEMPLOYMENT
8 COMPENSATION TAXES OWED TO THE STATE BY EMPLOYERS AT THE
9 COMMENCEMENT OF FISCAL YEAR 2004-2005.
10 (II) AMOUNT OF PENALTIES ASSESSED AGAINST AND COLLECTED FROM
11 EMPLOYERS IN EACH OF THE PAST TEN FISCAL YEARS.
12 (35) (I) NUMBER OF CLAIMS FILED DURING THE PAST TEN FISCAL
13 YEARS IN WHICH FIELD INVESTIGATIONS FOUND AN EMPLOYER FAILED TO
14 REPORT WAGES AND THE AMOUNT OF BENEFITS PAID IN THE CLAIMS.
15 (II) NUMBER OF EMPLOYERS FOUND THROUGH AUDITS OR OTHER
16 METHODS TO HAVE FAILED TO REPORT WAGES OR UNDERREPORTED WAGES IN
17 MORE THAN ONE OF THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
18 (III) NUMBER OF APPEALS BY CLAIMANTS BASED UPON NONREPORTING
19 OR UNDERREPORTING OF WAGES DURING THE PAST TEN FISCAL YEARS.
20 (36) (I) AVERAGE NUMBER OF MONTHS REQUIRED TO COMPLETE A
21 FIELD INVESTIGATION INTO THE REPORTING OF WAGES.
22 (II) AVERAGE LENGTH OF DELAY IN RECEIPT OF BENEFITS BY
23 CLAIMANTS IN CASES IN WHICH THERE ARE FIELD INVESTIGATIONS.
24 (III) NUMBER AND TOTAL AMOUNT OF FRAUD CHARGES FILED AGAINST
25 EMPLOYERS DURING THE PAST TEN FISCAL YEARS.
26 (37) (I) INFORMATION FOR THE PAST TEN FISCAL YEARS ON THE
27 POPULATION OF INITIAL CLAIMS, INSURED UNEMPLOYMENT AND DENIALS
28 BY RACE, GENDER, HISPANIC ORIGIN AND INDUSTRY OF LAST JOB.
29 (II) NUMBER OF CLAIMS DURING THE PAST TEN FISCAL YEARS IN
30 WHICH THE CLAIMANT'S PRIMARY LANGUAGE IS OTHER THAN ENGLISH,
20040H2870B4572 - 5 -
1 BROKEN DOWN BY LANGUAGES AND NUMBER OF CLAIMANTS.
2 (38) (I) PROCEDURES ESTABLISHED AND USED TO IDENTIFY
3 UNLAWFUL BUSINESS TRANSFERS AND OTHER UNLAWFUL PRACTICES THAT
4 AVOID PAYMENT OF UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS.
5 (II) NUMBER OF NEW ACCOUNTS ESTABLISHED DURING THE PAST TEN
6 FISCAL YEARS, AND HOW MANY WERE AUDITED TO DETERMINE WHETHER
7 ACCOUNTS WERE ESTABLISHED TO LOWER A TAX RATE.
8 (III) NUMBER OF EMPLOYES TRANSFERRED FROM AN EXISTING
9 BUSINESS OR TO A NEW ACCOUNT OR A DIFFERENT ACCOUNT DURING THE
10 PAST TEN FISCAL YEARS.
11 (39) (I) NUMBER OF WORKERS DENIED BENEFITS DURING THE PAST
12 TEN FISCAL YEARS FOR MONETARY ELIGIBILITY REASONS.
13 (II) NUMBER OF WORKERS DENIED BENEFITS DURING THE PAST TEN
14 FISCAL YEARS FOR SEPARATION REASONS, BOTH VOLUNTARY QUIT AND
15 WILLFUL MISCONDUCT.
16 (40) INFORMATION FOR THE PAST TEN YEARS INDICATING THE PARTY
17 (EMPLOYER, AGENCY OR CLAIMANT) RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPROPER DENIALS.
18 (41) (I) NUMBER OF CLAIMS DURING THE PAST TEN FISCAL YEARS
19 IN WHICH CORPORATE OFFICERS ATTEMPTED TO COLLECT BENEFITS.
20 (II) NUMBER OF CLAIMS DENIED DURING THE PAST TEN FISCAL
21 YEARS UNDER THE AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYER COVERAGE STANDARDS.
22 (42) UNDERPAYMENTS DURING THE PAST TEN FISCAL YEARS, IN
23 NUMBER OF WEEKS CLAIMED AND DOLLARS, AS REPORTED BY THE BENEFIT
24 ACCURACY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.
25 (43) NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS TO THE DEPARTMENT DURING THE PAST
26 FIVE FISCAL YEARS BY BOTH CLAIMANTS AND EMPLOYERS CONCERNING
27 INTERACTION WITH THE UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION SERVICE CENTERS,
28 INCLUDING THE NATURE OF THE TOP SEVEN MOST FREQUENT COMPLAINTS.
29 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
F21L43MRD/20040H2870B4572 - 6 -