A bill that would increase penalties for willful unemployment compensation fraud has been sent to the House for a vote, State Rep. Jim Cox (R-129) said.
It was unanimously passed out of the House Labor and Industry Committee, Feb. 14. unanimously voted to send a bill to the House this week that will increase penalties for willful unemployment compensation fraud.
HB 1852 would increase the penalty period for individuals who commit unemployment compensation fraud from two weeks to 10 weeks and would remove the current four-year limit on the imposition of these penalty weeks, Cox said. The bill would add a 15 percent penalty to the total owed to the fund for a fraudulent claim and create a 52-week penalty for individuals who commit willful fraud to collect benefits while in prison.
It is estimated the proposal will save the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund $15 million to $20 million annually. Pennsylvania’s rate of fraudulent unemployment claims is more than 5 percent, exceeding the national average.