HARRISBURG - The House of Representatives today unanimously approved legislation authored by Rep. Seth Grove (R-Dover) to further reform Pennsylvania’s unemployment compensation system and provide cost-saving anti-fraud measures.
• Increases the penalty period for individuals who commit unemployment compensation fraud from two weeks to 10 weeks.
• Removes the current four-year limit on the imposition of these penalty weeks.
• Adds a 15 percent penalty to the total owed to the fund for a fraudulent claim.
• Creates a 52-week penalty for individuals who commit willful fraud to collect benefits while in prison.
• Raises the penalty of employers who fail to report from 10 percent to 15 percent and the penalty for accepting employee contributions from a minimum of $100 to a minimum of $500, with a maximum of $1,500 and six months in prison.
Grove noted his proposal could save the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund nearly $154 million in fiscal year 2012-13 and $1.06 billion over the next seven years.
House Bill 1852 will now go before the Senate for its consideration.