Pennsylvania employers must be aware of new regulations imposed upon them by Act 9 of 2020 when employees separate from employment. Act 9 imposes new mandates related to unemployment compensation benefits and an employer’s duty to provide specific information related to unemployment compensation at the time an employee separates from the company, or at the time an employee’s hours are reduced.
Employer Health Insurance Notification Information
Employers are required to provide notification of several items, and employers can comply with all of them by providing a completed copy of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor Form UC-1609. That form contains the following information:
- Notification of the availability of unemployment compensation benefits to workers who are unemployed and meet the requirements of the unemployment act. This requirement is satisfied by the inclusion of language at the top of the form.
- Notification of the employee’s ability to file an unemployment compensation claim in the first week that employment stops or work hours are reduced. This requirement is also satisfied by the inclusion of language at the top of the form.
- Notification of the availability of assistance or information about an unemployment compensation claim on the department’s publicly accessible Internet website or by calling a toll-free number that the employer shall provide. This requirement is satisfied by providing the instructions located on page 2 of the form.
- Notification that the employee will need certain information in order to file a claim, including the employee’s full legal name; the employee’s Social Security number; and if not a citizen or resident of the United States, authorization to work in the United States. This requirement is satisfied by providing the instructions located on page 2 of the form.
Employers should be prepared to provide a completed version of Form UC-1609 as part of the exit procedure for all employees. Employers must also be prepared to provide a completed form when it reduces an employee’s hours but does not terminate the employee’s employment relationship.
How Maiello Brungo & Maiello can help employers with company health insurance mandates and the risk of unemployment with ACT 9 of 2020
For more information about an employer’s obligations under Act 9 of 2020, please contact Maiello Brungo & Maiello’s Human Resources Compliance and Strategic Counseling division at 412-242-4400 or info@mbm-law.net.
