Help Wanted Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3148 To amend the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to require States to impose certain requirements on individuals seeking pandemic unemployment assistance, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 12, 2021 Mr. JACOBS of New York (for himself, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, and Mr. MANN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Ways and Means A BILL To amend the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Secu- rity Act to require States to impose certain requirements on individuals seeking pandemic unemployment assist- ance, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Help Wanted Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. REINSTATING STATE WORK REQUIREMENTS. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title II of division 6 A of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3148.IH H3148 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3148 IH Act (15 U.S.C. 9023(b)) is amended by adding at the end 1 the following: 2 ‘‘SEC. 2119. STATE WORK REQUIREMENTS. 3 ‘‘As a condition of any agreement under section 4 2102(f), section 2104(a), or section 2107(a), a State may 5 not modify its unemployment compensation law and poli- 6 cies with respect to work search requirements under the 7 authority of section 4102(b) of the Families First 8 Coronavirus Response Act (26 U.S.C. 3304 note).’’. 9 (b) PANDEMIC UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE.—Sec- 10 tion 2107(a)(7) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Eco- 11 nomic Security Act (15 U.S.C. 9025(a)(7)) is amended to 12 read as follows: 13 ‘‘(7) ACTIVELY SEEKING WORK.—For purposes 14 of paragraph (2)(D), the term ‘actively seeking 15 work’ means, with respect to any individual, that 16 such individual— 17 ‘‘(A) is registered for employment services 18 in such a manner and to such extent as pre- 19 scribed by the State agency; 20 ‘‘(B) has engaged in an active search for 21 employment that is appropriate in light of the 22 employment available in the labor market, the 23 individual’s skills and capabilities, and includes 24 a number of employer contacts that is con- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3148.IH H3148 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3148 IH sistent with the standards communicated to the 1 individual by the State; 2 ‘‘(C) has maintained a record of such work 3 search, including employers contacted, method 4 of contact, and date contacted; and 5 ‘‘(D) when requested, has provided such 6 work search record to the State agency.’’. 7 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2 of the 8 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act is 9 amended in the table of contents by inserting after the 10 item related to section 2118 the following: 11 ‘‘Sec. 2119. State work requirements’’. SEC. 3. VOLUNTARY DEPARTURE. 12 Section 2102(a)(3)(A)(ii)(I) of the Coronavirus Aid, 13 Relief, and Economic Security Act (15 U.S.C. 14 9021(a)(3)(A)(ii)(I)) is amended by striking item (ii). 15 SEC. 4. SAFETY CONCERNS. 16 Section 2102(a)(3)(B) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, 17 and Economic Security Act (15 U.S.C. 9021(a)(3)(B)) is 18 amended— 19 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’; 20 (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period and in- 21 serting ‘‘; or’’; and 22 (3) by inserting at the end the following: 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3148.IH H3148 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3148 IH ‘‘(iii) an individual who declines to 1 work on the basis of safety concerns re- 2 lated to COVID–19.’’. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3148.IH H3148 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS