PA Lawmakers Push To Resume Job Search Requirement For Unemployed

PENNSYLVANIA — Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering legislation that would restart the work search requirement for those collecting unemployment.

The effort comes in the midst of a recent move to that effect in Florida, from Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The work search requirement had been suspended during the pandemic in many places around the country, including Pennsylvania and Florida, when job seeking was near impossible.

"The work search requirements are part of existing law," said State Rep. Jim Cox (Berks County), who sponsored the legislation. "The administration waived these requirements during the pandemic. We simply want them to be reinstated now that businesses are reopening and especially since many employers are reporting they are having trouble finding workers."

Cox's House, Labor, and Industry Committee passed a bill to that effect, House Bill 406, which now heads to the floor of the House.

"In talking with the businesses across my district, it is clear that there are hundreds of openings, just across (the local area)," State Rep. Kate Klunk (Lancaster County) said during the Committee's recent meeting.

Klunk cited specific industries that were suffering from reduced workforces following the pandemic, including the restaurant and hospitality industry, and food manufacturing.

"We have fair paying jobs, but we do not have applicants to fill the positions," Klunk read in a letter from one Pennsylvania employer, Hanover Foods.

Gov. Wolf recently announced that all mitigation orders aside from the mask mandate would be lifted by Memorial Day. As the vaccination rate increases and the state slowly gets back to a semblance of normalcy, more and more industries are opening up. Hiring fairs are popping up all over the state, with the hospitality industry in Montgomery County saying they're in need of some 350 more workers.

It's not yet clear what level of support this initiative might have across the aisle, or from the governor's office. However, Acting Labor and Industry Secretary Jennifer Berrier said during a hearing last month that the administration was considering such a measure.