Posted: | April 24, 2020 04:17 PM |
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From: | Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill |
To: | All Senate members |
Subject: | Daily reporting by the Department of Labor and Industry |
In the very near future, I will introduce legislation which will require the Department of Labor and Industry to provide publicly accessible daily updates to the people of Pennsylvania on all unemployment compensation claims that have been filed and fulfilled. The unemployment compensation system, housed under the Department of Labor and Industry, has been inundated with claims since the list of “life-sustaining” businesses was released by the governor over a month ago. Employees that were forced to shutter their doors are now seeking help from the Department during this incredibly difficult time. Unfortunately, the department was not prepared for the volume of claims, the system ultimately crashed and left thousands of Pennsylvanians with no choice but to sit on hold for hours. This is simply unacceptable. Therefore, this legislation will require the department to inform the public, including the more than 1.5 million unemployment claimants, daily with all unemployment compensation claims filed or fulfilled. This will increase transparency so that we can see the number of claims coming in and how many they are adequately processing. With each paycheck, Pennsylvania employees pay into this system. Now, that 1.5 million Pennsylvanians are seeking assistance, it is only fair to ensure transparency in a system they’ve paid into in case of emergencies like these. Please join me in supporting this piece of legislation to give transparency to the people of Pennsylvania on the unemployment compensation process. |
Introduced as SB1137