The Capitol building in Harrisburg on July 6, 2024 (Capital-Star photo by Ian Karbal)
A pair of state House committees unanimously advanced legislation Wednesday to extend unemployment benefits to domestic violence survivors and allow international team doctors to attend to players in the World Cup.
House Bill 274, sponsored by state Reps. Jason Dawkins (D-Philadelphia) and Seth Grove (R-York), would provide unemployment benefits for people if they voluntarily leave their job for their safety or that of a family or household member.
The state’s unemployment compensation law currently requires a person who quits their job to prove their reasons for quitting are “necessitous and compelling,” and that they made reasonable efforts to maintain the employment relationship, a co-sponsorship memo says.
The person who leaves work as a result of domestic violence can be eligible for benefits, but has to wait until the separation from employment is adjudicated, a process that can take weeks or months, according to the sponsors of the legislation.
The proposed legislation, which cleared the Pennsylvania House Labor & Industry Committee by a 26-0 vote, would create an “express lane” for claimants citing domestic violence as the reason for unemployment and allow the survivor to confidentially submit “reasonable evidence of recent domestic violence.”
Prior to the vote Wednesday, Dawkins, who chairs the committee, noted that last session the full state House passed a similar bipartisan bill by a 158-43 vote in March 2024, although it did not pass the state Senate.
“By creating this fast-track we are helping victims find the safety and security they need, without having to worry unduly about how they’re going to pay the bills,” Dawkins said in a news release following the bill advancing. “It’s the right thing to do, and I thank my colleagues for their support.”
The co-sponsorship memo also details that the bill includes “automatic relief from charges for employers – so that an employer’s tax rate will not be impacted by a UC claim resulting from a domestic violence situation.”
World Cup doctors
In preparation for Pennsylvania hosting FIFA Club World Cup this upcoming summer and the FIFA World Cup in 2026, the state House Professional Licensure Committee unanimously approved legislation that would amend the Medical Practice Act of 1985 to allow traveling team physicians from outside of the United States to treat their players in the Commonwealth without a Pennsylvania medical license.
House Bill 309, sponsored by state Reps. Frank Burns (D-Cambria) and Joe Emrick (R-Northampton), also extends the licensure exemption for traveling team physicians to 45 days instead of 30 days, and allows for an even longer period with prior approval by the Board of Medicine.
Under current state licensing law, international doctors would need to obtain a Pennsylvania medical license to treat their players on Pennsylvania soil, a process the authors of the bill say in the co-sponsorship memo can be “long and cumbersome.”
The full state Senate unanimously approved similar legislation on Wednesday sponsored by state Sen. Joe Picozzi (R-Philadelphia).