THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY BOYD, DECEMBER 1, 2011

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRY, DECEMBER 1, 2011  

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

eligibility and for compensation.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Section 401(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 to read:

Section 401.  Qualifications Required to Secure

Compensation.--Compensation shall be payable to any employe who

is or becomes unemployed, and who--

(a)  Has, within his base year, been paid wages for

employment as required by section 404(c) of this act: Provided,

however, That not less than [twenty per centum (20%)] fifty per

centum (50%) of the employe's total base year wages have been

paid in one or more quarters, other than the highest quarter in

such employe's base year.

* * *

Section 2.  Section 404(d) and (e)(1) and (2) of the act,

amended July 21, 1983 (P.L.68, No.30) and June 17, 2011 (P.L.16,

No.6), are amended to read:

Section 404.  Rate and Amount of Compensation.--Compensation

shall be paid to each eligible employe in accordance with the

following provisions of this section except that compensation

payable with respect to weeks ending in benefit years which

begin prior to the first day of January 1989 shall be paid on

the basis of the provisions of this section in effect at the

beginning of such benefit years.

* * *

(d)  The following apply:

(1)  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section

each eligible employe who is unemployed with respect to any week

ending subsequent to July 1, 1980 shall be paid, with respect to

such week, compensation in an amount equal to his weekly benefit

rate less the total of:

(i) the remuneration, if any, paid or payable to him with

respect to such week for services performed which is in excess

of his partial benefit credit[,];

(ii) vacation pay, if any, which is in excess of his partial

benefit credit, except when paid to an employe who is

permanently or indefinitely separated from his employment [and];

(iii) the amount of severance pay that is attributed to the

week; and

(iv) the amount deducted under clause (1.2).

(1.1)  For purposes of clause (1)(iii), all of the following

apply:

(i)  "Severance pay" means one or more payments made by an

employer to an employe on account of separation from the service

of the employer, regardless of whether the employer is legally

bound by contract, statute or otherwise to make such payments.

The term does not include payments for pension, retirement or

accrued leave or payments of supplemental unemployment benefits.

(ii)  The amount of severance pay attributed pursuant to

subclause (iii) shall be an amount not less than zero (0)

determined by subtracting forty per centum (40%) of the average

annual wage as calculated under subsection (e) as of June 30

immediately preceding the calendar year in which the claimant's

benefit year begins from the total amount of severance pay paid

or payable to the claimant by the employer.

(iii)  Severance pay is attributed as follows:

(A)  Severance pay is attributed to the day, days, week or

weeks immediately following the employe's separation.

(B)  The number of days or weeks to which severance pay is

attributed is determined by dividing the total amount of

severance pay by the regular full-time daily or weekly wage of

the claimant.

(C)  The amount of severance pay attributed to each day or

week equals the regular full-time daily or weekly wage of the

claimant.

(D)  When the attribution of severance pay is made on the

basis of the number of days, the pay shall be attributed to the

customary working days in the calendar week.

(1.2)  If the total amount of compensation to which a

claimant is entitled under subsections (c) and (e)(1),

determined without regard to this clause, equals or exceeds

twenty-one (21) times the claimant's weekly benefit rate, an

amount equal to twenty-five per centum (25%) of the claimant's

weekly benefit rate shall be deducted from the claimant's

compensation in accordance with the following:

(i)  The deduction shall apply to weeks that begin after the

claimant has received compensation in an amount equal to or

exceeding twenty (20) times his weekly benefit rate.

(ii)  For each week for which a deduction occurs under this

clause the amount of compensation to which the claimant is

entitled under subsections (c) and (e)(1) shall be reduced by an

amount equal to the deduction.

(iii)  The deduction under this clause shall be applied

before any other deductions.

(iv)  If an individual's compensation, after the deduction

under this clause and other deductions, is not a multiple of one

dollar ($1), it shall be reduced to the next lower multiple of

one dollar ($1).

(v)  The total amount deducted under this clause for a

benefit year shall not exceed the amount determined as follows:

(A)  Multiply:

(I)  twenty (20); by

(II)  the claimant's weekly benefit rate.

(B)  Subtract:

(I)  the product under unit (A); from

(II)  the total amount of compensation to which the

individual is entitled under subsections (c) and (e)(1),

determined without regard to this clause.

(C)  Divide:

(I)  the difference under unit (B); by

(II)  the claimant's weekly benefit rate.

(D)  Multiply:

(I)  the quotient under unit (C); by

(II)  twenty-five per centum (25%) of the claimant's weekly

benefit rate.

(E)  The product under unit (D) is the total amount that may

be deducted under this clause for a benefit year.

(vi)  The deduction under this clause shall not apply to any

week in which an individual is participating in work sharing

under Article XIII of this act or to compensation paid under

Article IV-A of this act.

(2)  The following apply:

(i)  In addition to the deductions provided for in clause

(1), for any week with respect to which an individual is

receiving a pension, including a governmental or other pension,

retirement or retired pay, annuity or any other similar periodic

payment, under a plan maintained or contributed to by a base

period or chargeable employer, the weekly benefit amount payable

to such individual for such week shall be reduced, but not below

zero, by the pro-rated weekly amount of the pension as

determined under subclause (ii).

(ii)  If the pension is entirely contributed to by the

employer, then one hundred per centum (100%) of the pro-rated

weekly amount of the pension shall be deducted. Except as set

forth in clause (4), if the pension is contributed to by the

individual, in any amount, then fifty per centum (50%) of the

pro-rated weekly amount of the pension shall be deducted.

(iii)  No deduction shall be made under this clause by reason

of the receipt of a pension if the services performed by the

individual during the base period or remuneration received for

such services for such employer did not affect the individual's

eligibility for, or increase the amount of, such pension,

retirement or retired pay, annuity or similar payment.

(3)  The provisions of this subsection shall be applicable

whether or not such vacation pay, retirement pension or

annuities or wages are legally required to be paid. If such

retirement pension or annuity payments deductible under the

provisions of this subsection are received on other than a

weekly basis, the amount thereof shall be allocated and pro-

rated in accordance with the rules and regulations of the

department. Vacation pay or other remuneration deductible under

the provisions of this subsection shall be pro-rated on the

basis of the employe's normal full-time weekly wage and as so

pro-rated shall be allocated to such period or periods of

unemployment as shall be determined by rules and regulations of

the department. Such compensation, if not a multiple of one

dollar ($1), shall be computed to the next lower multiple of one

dollar ($1).

(4)  No deductions shall be made under this subsection for

pensions paid under the Social Security Act (Public Law 74-271,

42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.), or the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974

(Public Law 93-445, 88 Stat. 1305), if the pension is

contributed to by the individual in any amount.

(e)  Determination of rate and amount of benefits is as

follows:

(1)  Table Specified for the Determination of

Rate and Amount of Benefits

*(this figure subject to section 401(a)).]