PRINTER'S NO. 815
No. 731 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY MAITLAND, EGOLF, ALLEN, BASTIAN, CLYMER,
FAIRCHILD, HALUSKA, HENNESSEY, HESS, HORSEY, R. MILLER,
NICKOL, ROSS, RUBLEY, SAYLOR, STERN, E. Z. TAYLOR, WILT,
YOUNGBLOOD AND DALEY, FEBRUARY 14, 2001
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR RELATIONS, FEBRUARY 14, 2001
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of December 5, 1936 (2nd Sp.Sess., 1937
2 P.L.2897, No.1), entitled "An act establishing a system of
3 unemployment compensation to be administered by the
4 Department of Labor and Industry and its existing and newly
5 created agencies with personnel (with certain exceptions)
6 selected on a civil service basis; requiring employers to
7 keep records and make reports, and certain employers to pay
8 contributions based on payrolls to provide moneys for the
9 payment of compensation to certain unemployed persons;
10 providing procedure and administrative details for the
11 determination, payment and collection of such contributions
12 and the payment of such compensation; providing for
13 cooperation with the Federal Government and its agencies;
14 creating certain special funds in the custody of the State
15 Treasurer; and prescribing penalties," further providing for
16 false statements and representations, for violation of the
17 act and rules and regulations, for recovery and recoupment of
18 compensation and for penalties.
19 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
20 hereby enacts as follows:
21 Section 1. Section 801 of the act of December 5, 1936 (2nd
22 Sp.Sess., 1937 P.L.2897, No.1), known as the Unemployment
23 Compensation Law, amended June 22, 1964 (Sp.Sess., P.L.112,
24 No.7), is amended to read:
25 Section 801. False Statements and Representations to Obtain
1 or Increase Compensation.--(a) Whoever makes a false statement
2 or representation knowing it to be false, or knowingly fails to
3 disclose a material fact to obtain or increase any compensation
4 or other payment under this act or under an employment security
5 law of any other state or of the Federal Government or of a
6 foreign government, either for himself or for any other person,
7 [shall upon conviction thereof in a summary proceeding, be
8 sentenced to pay a fine of not less than thirty nor more than
9 two hundred dollars, or shall be sentenced to imprisonment for
10 not longer than thirty days, or both, and each such false
11 statement or representation or failure to disclose a material
12 fact shall constitute a separate offense.] commits a summary
13 offense. Each false statement or representation or failure to
14 disclose a material fact shall constitute a separate offense.
15 (b) Whoever makes a false statement knowing it to be false,
16 or knowingly fails to disclose a material fact to obtain or
17 increase any compensation or other payment under this act or
18 under an employment security law of any other state or of the
19 Federal Government or of a foreign government, [may be
20 disqualified in addition to such week or weeks of improper
21 payments for a penalty period of two weeks and for not more than
22 one additional week for each such week of improper payment:
23 Provided, That no additional weeks of disqualification shall be
24 imposed under this section if prosecution proceedings have been
25 instituted against the claimant because of such
26 misrepresentation or non-disclosure. The departmental
27 determination imposing penalty weeks under the provisions of
28 this subsection shall be subject to appeal in the manner
29 provided in this act for appeals from determinations of
30 compensation. The penalty weeks herein provided for shall be
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1 imposed against any weeks with respect to which the claimant
2 would otherwise be eligible for compensation, under the
3 provisions of this act, which begin within the two year period
4 following the departmental determination imposing such penalty
5 weeks.] shall be disqualified to receive compensation under this
6 act for a period of seven years from the date of violation of
7 this section. Any compensation received after the date of
8 violation shall be subject to recovery under section 804(a).
9 Section 2. Section 802 of the act, amended March 30, 1955
10 (P.L.6, No.5), is amended to read:
11 Section 802. False Statements and Representations to Prevent
12 or Reduce Compensation.--Any employer (whether or not liable for
13 the payment of contributions under this act) or any officer or
14 agent of such employer or any other person who makes a false
15 statement or representation knowing it to be false, or who
16 knowingly fails to disclose a material fact to prevent or reduce
17 the payment of compensation to any employe entitled thereto, or
18 to avoid becoming or remaining subject hereto, or to avoid or
19 reduce any contribution or other payment required from an
20 employer under this act, or who wilfully fails or refuses to
21 make any such contribution or other payment or to furnish any
22 reports required hereunder, or who wilfully fails or refuses to
23 produce or permit the inspection or copying of records as
24 required hereunder, [shall, upon conviction thereof in a summary
25 proceeding, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than fifty
26 dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, and in default of
27 the payment of such fine and costs shall be sentenced to
28 imprisonment for not longer than thirty days, and each such
29 false statement or representation or failure to disclose a
30 material fact, and each day of such failure or refusal shall
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1 constitute a separate offense.] commits a summary offense.
2 Section 3. Section 803 of the act is amended to read:
3 Section 803. Violation of Act and Rules and Regulations.--
4 Any person who shall wilfully violate any provision of this act
5 or any rule or regulation thereunder, the violation of which is
6 made unlawful, or the observance of which is required under the
7 terms of this act, and for which a penalty is neither prescribed
8 herein nor provided by any other applicable statute, [shall,
9 upon conviction thereof in a summary proceeding, be sentenced to
10 pay a fine of not less than twenty nor more than two hundred
11 dollars, and in default of the payment of such fine and costs
12 shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not longer than thirty
13 days, and each] commits a summary offense. Each day such
14 violation continues shall be deemed to be a separate offense.
15 Section 4. Section 804(a) of the act, amended October 19,
16 1988 (P.L.818, No.109), is amended to read:
17 Section 804. Recovery and Recoupment of Compensation.--(a)
18 (1) Any person who by reason of his fault has received any sum
19 as compensation under this act to which he was not entitled,
20 shall be liable to repay to the Unemployment Compensation Fund
21 to the credit of the Compensation Account a sum equal to the
22 amount so received by him and interest at the rate determined by
23 the Secretary of Revenue as provided by section 806 of the act
24 of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known as "The Fiscal Code,"
25 per month or fraction of a month from fifteen (15) days after
26 the Notice of Overpayment was issued until paid. [Such sum shall
27 be collectible (1) in the manner provided in section 308.1 or
28 section 309 of this act, for the collection of past due
29 contributions, or (2) by deduction from any future compensation
30 payable to the claimant under this act: Provided, That interest
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1 assessed under this section cannot be recouped by deduction from
2 any future compensation payable to the claimant under this act:
3 Provided further, That no administrative or legal proceedings
4 for the collection of such sum shall be instituted after the
5 expiration of six years following the end of the benefit year
6 with respect to which such sum was paid.] Such sum shall be
7 collected by:
8 (i) utilizing the procedures delineated in section 308.1 or
9 section 309;
10 (ii) utilizing the procedures delineated in paragraph (2)
11 for the attachment of a claimant's wages, notwithstanding the
12 limitations set forth in 42 Pa.C.S. § 8127 (relating to personal
13 earnings exempt from process); or
14 (iii) deduction from any future compensation payable to the
15 claimant under this act.
16 (2) In order to implement a wage attachment, the department
17 shall initiate such action by sending to the claimant's last
18 known address a notice of its intent. In addition, the
19 department shall send to the employer a notice of execution upon
20 wages and upon receipt of such notice, the employer shall
21 certify to the department the amount of wages earned by the
22 claimant. The employer shall pay to the department such
23 percentage of the amount as the department demands, not to
24 exceed ten per centum (10%) of the wages paid to the claimant
25 during any given pay period. The department may subject an
26 employer to a civil penalty of not less than one hundred dollars
27 nor more than five hundred dollars if such employer fails to
28 forward to the department the amount due within ten business
29 days of the applicable payday. For the purposes of this
30 subsection, the term "wages" shall mean the total compensation
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1 paid minus:
2 (i) applicable Federal, State and local withholding taxes;
3 (ii) nonvoluntary retirement payments;
4 (iii) union dues; and
5 (iv) health insurance premiums.
6 The employer shall be entitled to deduct from the moneys
7 collected from each employe the costs incurred from extra
8 accounting costs to perform such transactions, not to exceed
9 five dollars of the amount collected per pay period.
10 * * *
11 Section 5. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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