I intend to re-introduce legislation that will make the expansion of the Department of Labor and Industry’s Unemployment Compensation Department an automatic process upon the enactment of an Emergency Disaster Order under Title 35, commensurate upon need.  This legislation will provide security and peace of mind to unemployed workers, due to no fault of their own, that they will be able to file and receive payment in an expeditious way during a statewide emergency disaster.

Due to the lack of staffing at UC, many of us received countless complaints from constituents who had not received their unemployment compensation, or their compensation was being held up for reasons of which they are unaware—and they could not get in contact with anyone at UC to get an answer.

At the outset of the pandemic, the Wolf Administration waited for Federal Stimulus monies to arrive, before hiring an additional 100 employees for the L&I Department to handle unemployment compensation claims.  The timeline between the enactment of the emergency order and the increase in support had created a secondary health crisis by not paying our laid-off workers in a timely fashion, thrusting these Pennsylvanians into poverty.  This is morally unconscionable, and the process needs to be changed.

Please consider cosponsoring this important legislation.

Previous cosponsors of HB 210 (2023-2024):
GUENST, ZIMMERMAN, GILLEN and JAMES