Pennsylvania House Bill HB318

Pennsylvania 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/27/25
• Refer: 1/27/25

Caption

An Act amending the act of December 5, 1936 (2nd Sp.Sess., 1937 P.L.2897, No.1), known as the Unemployment Compensation Law, in compensation, further providing for ineligibility for compensation.

Summary

HB318 amends Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Compensation Law to tighten the rules for when a claimant is disqualified from receiving benefits for refusing suitable work. Under current law, a claimant can be ineligible if they fail, without good cause, to apply for or accept suitable work. This bill adds language requiring a claimant to make a good-faith effort to obtain suitable employment and prohibits actions that “unreasonably discourage” the claimant’s own hire. The bill specifically identifies two examples of discouraging hire: refusing to attend or participate, without good cause, in a job interview or other employer selection activity, and refusing employment or a referral for employment, without good cause, before an interview or discussion of job details. It also directs the Department of Labor and Industry to create or update employer reporting forms within 90 days so employers can report claimants who discourage their own hire, and it clarifies that such conduct will be treated as a refusal of work for unemployment compensation purposes.

Impact

HB318 would amend Section 402(a) of the Unemployment Compensation Law, expanding the circumstances under which a claimant may be found ineligible for benefits. In practice, it would give the Department of Labor and Industry and employers a clearer basis to deny benefits when a claimant is viewed as undermining their own hiring prospects, and it would require administrative updates to reporting forms and notices. The bill affects unemployed workers seeking benefits, employers reporting claimant conduct, and the state agency administering unemployment compensation.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, the measure appears to be framed as an integrity and work-attachment reform rather than a broad policy change. Its sponsors likely intend to encourage active job-seeking and reduce benefit eligibility for claimants who do not cooperate with the hiring process. No formal vote history or transcript is available here, so there is no documented public sentiment in the provided record beyond the bill’s apparent pro-work, anti-abuse orientation.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely to be whether the bill’s new standard is too broad or subjective, especially the phrase “unreasonably discourage the claimant’s own hire.” Supporters may argue it prevents claimants from gaming the system by avoiding interviews or pre-interview engagement, while critics may worry it could penalize legitimate job-seeking behavior, misunderstandings, or applicants who decline unsuitable opportunities before learning job details. Another potential issue is the administrative burden on employers and the department in documenting and evaluating alleged discouragement of hire.