PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 815 PRINTER'S NO. 3403
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 AND
DALEY, FEBRUARY 14, 2001
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON LABOR RELATIONS, HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, MARCH 12, 2002
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:
1 Section 801. False Statements and Representations to Obtain
2 or Increase Compensation.--(a) Whoever makes a false statement
3 or representation knowing it to be false, or knowingly fails to
4 disclose a material fact to obtain or increase any compensation
5 or other payment under this act or under an employment security
6 law of any other state or of the Federal Government or of a
7 foreign government, either for himself or for any other person,
8 [shall upon conviction thereof in a summary proceeding, be <--
9 sentenced to pay a fine of not less than [thirty nor more than <--
10 two hundred] ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS NOR MORE THAN ONE THOUSAND <--
11 dollars, or shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not longer
12 than thirty days, or both, and each such false statement or
13 representation or failure to disclose a material fact shall
14 constitute a separate offense.] commits a summary offense. Each <--
15 false statement or representation or failure to disclose a
16 material fact shall constitute a separate offense.
17 (b) Whoever makes a false statement knowing it to be false,
18 or knowingly fails to disclose a material fact to obtain or
19 increase any compensation or other payment under this act or
20 under an employment security law of any other state or of the
21 Federal Government or of a foreign government, [may be <--
22 disqualified in addition to such week or weeks of improper
23 payments for a penalty period of two weeks and for not more than
24 one additional week for each such week of improper payment:
25 Provided, That no additional weeks of disqualification shall be
26 imposed under this section if prosecution proceedings have been
27 instituted against the claimant because of such
28 misrepresentation or non-disclosure. The departmental
29 determination imposing penalty weeks under the provisions of
30 this subsection shall be subject to appeal in the manner
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1 provided in this act for appeals from determinations of
2 compensation. The penalty weeks herein provided for shall be
3 imposed against any weeks with respect to which the claimant
4 would otherwise be eligible for compensation, under the
5 provisions of this act, which begin within the [two year] FOUR <--
6 YEAR period following the [departmental determination imposing <--
7 such penalty weeks.] shall be disqualified to receive <--
8 compensation under this act for a period of seven years from the
9 date of violation of this section. Any compensation received
10 after the date of violation shall be subject to recovery under
11 section 804(a). WEEKS] END OF THE BENEFIT YEAR WITH RESPECT TO <--
12 WHICH THE IMPROPER PAYMENT OR PAYMENTS OCCURRED.
13 Section 2. Section 802 of the act, amended March 30, 1955
14 (P.L.6, No.5), is amended to read:
15 Section 802. False Statements and Representations to Prevent
16 or Reduce Compensation.--Any employer (whether or not liable for
17 the payment of contributions under this act) or any officer or
18 agent of such employer or any other person who makes a false
19 statement or representation knowing it to be false, or who
20 knowingly fails to disclose a material fact to prevent or reduce
21 the payment of compensation to any employe entitled thereto, or
22 to avoid becoming or remaining subject hereto, or to avoid or
23 reduce any contribution or other payment required from an
24 employer under this act, or who wilfully fails or refuses to
25 make any such contribution or other payment or to furnish any
26 reports required hereunder, or who wilfully fails or refuses to
27 produce or permit the inspection or copying of records as
28 required hereunder, [shall, upon conviction thereof in a summary <--
29 proceeding, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than [fifty] <--
30 ONE HUNDRED dollars nor more than [five] FIFTEEN hundred <--
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1 dollars[, and in default of the payment of such fine and costs <--
2 shall be sentenced] OR to imprisonment for not longer than <--
3 thirty days, [and each] OR BOTH. EACH such false statement or <--
4 representation or failure to disclose a material fact, and each
5 day of such failure or refusal shall constitute a separate
6 offense.] commits a summary offense. <--
7 Section 3. Section 803 of the act is amended to read:
8 Section 803. Violation of Act and Rules and Regulations.--
9 Any person who shall wilfully violate any provision of this act
10 or any rule or regulation thereunder, the violation of which is
11 made unlawful, or the observance of which is required under the
12 terms of this act, and for which a penalty is neither prescribed
13 herein nor provided by any other applicable statute, [shall, <--
14 upon conviction thereof in a summary proceeding, be sentenced to
15 pay a fine of not less than [twenty nor more than two hundred] <--
16 ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS NOR MORE THAN ONE THOUSAND dollars[, and in <--
17 default of the payment of such fine and costs shall be
18 sentenced] OR to imprisonment for not longer than thirty days, <--
19 [and each] commits a summary offense OR BOTH. Each day such <--
20 violation continues shall be deemed to be a separate offense.
21 Section 4. Section 804(a) of the act, amended October 19, <--
22 1988 (P.L.818, No.109), is amended to read:
23 Section 804. Recovery and Recoupment of Compensation.--(a)
24 (1) Any person who by reason of his fault has received any sum
25 as compensation under this act to which he was not entitled,
26 shall be liable to repay to the Unemployment Compensation Fund
27 to the credit of the Compensation Account a sum equal to the
28 amount so received by him and interest at the rate determined by
29 the Secretary of Revenue as provided by section 806 of the act
30 of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known as "The Fiscal Code,"
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1 per month or fraction of a month from fifteen (15) days after
2 the Notice of Overpayment was issued until paid. [Such sum shall
3 be collectible (1) in the manner provided in section 308.1 or
4 section 309 of this act, for the collection of past due
5 contributions, or (2) by deduction from any future compensation
6 payable to the claimant under this act: Provided, That interest
7 assessed under this section cannot be recouped by deduction from
8 any future compensation payable to the claimant under this act:
9 Provided further, That no administrative or legal proceedings
10 for the collection of such sum shall be instituted after the
11 expiration of six years following the end of the benefit year
12 with respect to which such sum was paid.] Such sum shall be
13 collected by:
14 (i) utilizing the procedures delineated in section 308.1 or
15 section 309;
16 (ii) utilizing the procedures delineated in paragraph (2)
17 for the attachment of a claimant's wages, notwithstanding the
18 limitations set forth in 42 Pa.C.S. § 8127 (relating to personal
19 earnings exempt from process); or
20 (iii) deduction from any future compensation payable to the
21 claimant under this act.
22 (2) In order to implement a wage attachment, the department
23 shall initiate such action by sending to the claimant's last
24 known address a notice of its intent. In addition, the
25 department shall send to the employer a notice of execution upon
26 wages and upon receipt of such notice, the employer shall
27 certify to the department the amount of wages earned by the
28 claimant. The employer shall pay to the department such
29 percentage of the amount as the department demands, not to
30 exceed ten per centum (10%) of the wages paid to the claimant
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1 during any given pay period. The department may subject an
2 employer to a civil penalty of not less than one hundred dollars
3 nor more than five hundred dollars if such employer fails to
4 forward to the department the amount due within ten business
5 days of the applicable payday. For the purposes of this
6 subsection, the term "wages" shall mean the total compensation
7 paid minus:
8 (i) applicable Federal, State and local withholding taxes;
9 (ii) nonvoluntary retirement payments;
10 (iii) union dues; and
11 (iv) health insurance premiums.
12 The employer shall be entitled to deduct from the moneys
13 collected from each employe the costs incurred from extra
14 accounting costs to perform such transactions, not to exceed
15 five dollars of the amount collected per pay period.
16 * * *
17 Section 5 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days. <--
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