State Rep. Jim Cox (R-Berks and Lancaster counties), Pennsylvania House Labor and Industry Committee chairman, recently sent a memorandum to all House members seeking co-sponsors for legislation that would update work search requirements for unemployment compensation claimants.
The bill would require the Department of Labor and Industry to reinstitute work search and CareerLink registration requirements for unemployment compensation claimants no later than June 8 or 15 days after the enactment of the legislation, whichever date is later.
The requirements were suspended legislatively through the end of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Tom Wolf continued to waive them administratively after that expiration date.
Jennifer Berrier, Department of Labor & Industry acting secretary, recently testified that the full range of work search and registration requirements might not be reinstated until September.
“The waiver of the work search requirements for all claimants is becoming a major problem for Pennsylvania’s economic recovery,” Cox said. “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.”