Amendments to Unemployment Comp Bills May Stall Passage

Four days before a federal deadline will cut off unemployment compensation checks for about 133,000 Pennsylvanians, the state House took action that will delay the passage of a bill to expand eligibility for state-level benefits.

The legislation, SB 1030, would modify eligibility requirements for the state’s unemployment compensation system to cover those who will be losing their extended federal unemployment. The federal government set a deadline of June 11 for the expiration of the 13-week extended benefits in Pennsylvania, because the state’s unemployment rate fell to 7.1 percent in May, well below the federal threshold of 8.5 percent.

The original Senate legislation would have changed the maximum weekly benefit, required active work searches by recipients, and delayed the benefit year start date until unemployed workers exhausted their severance pay package that exceeds 50 percent of the statewide average annual wage.

The bill passed the state Senate earlier this month, but was amended by the House Labor and Industry Committee on June 7. Because the legislation has changed, it must pass the state House and go back through the state Senate before it can head to Gov. Tom Corbett’s desk for consideration.

The Senate bill does not address the $3.8 billion in unemployment compensation debt which taxpayers will have to pay off.

The debt was accrued when the state Department of Labor and Industry borrowed unemployment compensation funds from the federal Department of Labor during the past few years.

State Rep. Scott Perry, R-York, said it was unlikely the bill would get through the process before the deadline.

If the deadline is not met, Pennsylvanians receiving unemployment compensation could see delays in receiving their checks, said Ryan Mackenzie, policy director for the state Department of Labor and Industry.

State Rep. Jesse White, D-Allegheny, said retroactive checks would not help people who rely on regular unemployment checks to support themselves.

“It’s easy to say, ‘Don’t worry, it’ll be retroactive,’” said White. “Saying the bill’s retroactive isn’t going to work when someone misses a credit card payment and their interest rate jumps up to 29 percent. It’s not going to help if they miss a mortgage payment and their house goes into foreclosure.”

Darwyyn Deyo is a reporter for PA Independent.