A new Pennsylvania law (Act 9 of 2020) requires Pennsylvania employers to provide notice to employees about unemployment compensation benefits at the time of separation from employment or when an employee’s work hours are reduced.

The notice must advise of:

• The availability of unemployment compensation benefits to eligible workers who meet the requirements of the Unemployment Compensation Law.
• The ability of an employee to file an unemployment compensation claim in the first week that employment stops or work hours are reduced.
• The availability of assistance and information about unemployment compensation claims from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry’s Office of Unemployment Compensation by specific references to the Department’s website and toll free number - (888) 313-7284.
• That employees applying for unemployment will need to provide certain information including: (1) the employee’s full legal name (most employees should know this already); (2) the employee’s social security number (again, most employees should know this); and (3) if not a citizen or resident of the United States, evidence of authorization to work in the United States.

Although not technically required by the new law, it would be prudent to provide the Department’s requirements checklist.

If the reason for the wage loss is on account of the pandemic, it is important for the applicant to state that the reason for the application is on account of the “COVID-19 Pandemic.” This may result in substantially increased benefits (e.g. elimination of the one week waiting period; an additional $600 per week until the end of July, 2020; waiver of job search and registration requirements during the Commonwealth's pandemic emergency). The cost of these additional benefits will not be charged to an employer’s account (unless an employer is self-insured).

Although the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) also mandated that the federal Department of Labor issue a model notice for employers to issue to potentially eligible employees, this notice has not yet been issued. Don’t hold your breath that this model notice – assuming it is ever issued – will be comprehensive enough to meet both federal and state requirements. After all, employers have little else to manage right now – more requirements from Washington, DC and Harrisburg only add to the burden.