On March 27, 2020, Governor Wolf signed Act 9 of 2020 into law, which requires employers to provide employees with information upon separation of employment or upon reduction in work hours.  Below is a summary of the employer notification requirements under the law:

Each employer, whether or not they are liable for the payment of unemployment contributions, must provide notification of the availability of unemployment compensation to employees at the time of separation from employment. The notification should include, but not be limited to, the following information:

(1) Availability of unemployment compensation benefits to workers who are unemployed and who meet certain other requirements;

(2) Ability of an employee to file an unemployment compensation claim in the first week that employment stops, or work hours are reduced;

(3) Availability of assistance or information about an unemployment compensation claim on the PA Department of Labor’s publicly accessible Internet website or by calling a toll-free number the employer provides (1-888-313-7284); and

(4) Certain information the employee needs in order to file a claim, including:

            (i) the employee's full legal name;

            (ii) the employee's Social Security number; and

            (iii) if not a citizen or resident of the United States, authorization to work in the United States.

The PA Department of Labor has released Form UC-1609 to assist employers in complying with the law, available here. Employers can complete and provide this form to employees at the time of separation.