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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | April 22, 2021 10:07 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Jim Cox |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Work Search Requirements for Unemployment Compensation Claimants |
| In the very near future, I will be introducing legislation to require that the Department of Labor and Industry reinstitute the work search and CareerLink registration requirements for unemployment compensation claimants. The waiver of the work search requirements for all claimants is becoming a major problem for Pennsylvania's economic recovery. Many employers are having trouble finding workers – and they often cite the additional ($300/week) federal unemployment benefits and the lack of work search requirements as the main reason for this. According to a recent CNN report, 23 other states have already begun to reinstate similar requirements. These requirements were suspended legislatively through the end of 2020, but the Governor has continued to waive them administratively since that time. At a recent Labor and Industry Committee hearing, the Acting Secretary testified that the full range of work search and registration requirements may not be reinstated until September, which is far too long to wait to begin Pennsylvania’s economic recovery. My bill would simply require the department to reinstate the work search and registration requirements no later than June 8 (the date the new UC benefits system goes live) or fifteen days after the enactment of this legislation, whichever is later. Circumstances have changed dramatically since April 2020. It is time for Pennsylvania’s unemployment system to start sending a message that these benefits are TEMPORARY – and that claimants need to start looking for a job. I hope you will join me in cosponsoring this bill. . |
Introduced as HB406