Grove Bill to Help Domestic Violence Victims Clears Committee

January 29, 2025

HARRISBURG – To further assist victims of domestic violence, the House Labor and Industry Committee unanimously voted to forward to the House legislation by the committee’s chairmen, Reps. Seth Grove (R-Dover) and Jason Dawkins (D- Philadelphia), to fast-track unemployment benefits for people in a domestic violence situation.

Current law allows people who need to quit work as the result of a domestic violence situation to be eligible for unemployment compensation after a lengthy adjudication process. House Bill 274 would create an “express lane” for claims when a claimant provides documentation of a domestic violence situation. When acceptable documentation is provided, the claimant would be eligible, if they meet all the other qualifications, to receive benefits.

“At no fault of their own, some domestic violence victims are forced to quit their jobs because their abuser knows where they work and could further be harmed,” Grove said. “Though fairly rare, a person forced to stop working because of a terrible situation shouldn’t continue to face the burden of worrying how to feed his or her family.”

House Bill 274 provides that employers will receive automatic relief from charges for these claims.

The bill now goes to the full House for consideration.

Representative Seth Grove
196th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Greg Gross
717.260.6374
ggross@pahousegop.com
RepGrove.com / Facebook.com/RepSethGrove