PRINTER'S NO. 218
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.274
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY DAWKINS, GROVE, SHUSTERMAN, HARKINS, HILL-EVANS,
MARCELL, KHAN, POWELL, VENKAT, DEASY, McNEILL, CARROLL,
FREEMAN, SCHLOSSBERG, GIRAL, MAYES, HOWARD, CERRATO AND
SANCHEZ, JANUARY 22, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRY, JANUARY 22, 2025
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," in compensation,
providing for eligibility related to domestic violence.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of December 5, 1936 (2nd Sp.Sess., 1937
P.L.2897, No.1), known as the Unemployment Compensation Law, is
amended by adding a section to read:
Section 402.7. Eligibility Related to Domestic Violence.--
(a) An employe shall not be deemed to be ineligible under
section 402(b) for voluntarily leaving employment or section
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24 402(e) for failure to attend work if, due to a domestic violence
situation, the individual's continued employment would
jeopardize the safety of the individual or a member of the
individual's family or household.
( b) Verification of a domestic violence situation may be
provided on the initial application for benefits through any one
of the following which documents recent domestic violence:
(1) An active or recently issued protective order or other
order, court records, a police record, medical treatment
records, social services records or child protective services
records.
(2) A statement supporting the existence of recent domestic
violence from a qualified professional from whom the individual
has sought assistance, such as a counselor, shelter worker,
member of the clergy, attorney or health care worker, or a
similar statement from a friend or relative from whom the
individual has sought assistance.
(3) A self-affirmation that the individual's continued
employment would jeopardize the safety of the individual or a
member of the individual's family or household due to the
domestic violence situation.
(4) Any other type of evidence that reasonably proves
domestic violence.
(c) The documentation of domestic violence shall remain
confidential, and the department may not disclose the existence
of a domestic violence situation in any notice provided to an
employer regarding the claim for compensation.
(d) If an individual who submits documentation under
subsection (b) in a form acceptable to the department is
otherwise eligible under section 401, the individual shall be
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30 considered eligible, and the department shall expedite a
determination of eligibility under section 501. An individual
who submits a self-affirmation under subsection (b)(3) shall
submit documentation of the domestic violence situation under
subsection (b)(1), (2) or (4) to the department within one
hundred twenty (120) days of the date of application. This
subsection shall not be construed to prohibit redetermination of
eligibility within eighteen (18) months of the application for
benefits if the department receives information within eighteen
(18) months of the application for benefits indicating that the
self-affirmation submitted under subsection (b)(3) included
false information or an individual fails to submit documentation
of the domestic violence situation under subsection (b)(1), (2)
or (4) within one hundred twenty (120) days of the date of
application.
(e) The department shall grant relief from charges under
section 302.1 to base year employers for benefit charges related
to a claim that is determined eligible in accordance with this
section. Relief from charges shall be provided without a request
from the employer.
(f) Subject to subsection (c), if an employer is granted
relief from charges without a request under subsection (e), the
department shall notify the employer that relief from charges
shall be granted without the need for the employer to submit a
request. Notice under this subsection may be included on the
eligibility determination provided to the employer or on other
relevant claim documentation delivered to the employer.
Section 2. The Department of Labor and Industry shall
consult with the Office of Victim Advocate and relevant advocacy
groups when implementing section 402.7 of the act, including
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30 updates to the application for unemployment compensation,
updated notices to claimants and employers and the development
of any forms related to documentation of a domestic violence
situation.
Section 3. This act shall take effect in six months.
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