Unemployment Compensation “Express Lane” for Victims of Domestic Violence

At the conclusion of 2025 Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed a number of bills into law. One was HB 274, which became Act 55 of 2025. That bill creates an “express lane” for unemployment claimants who are the victims of domestic violence.

Under prior practice, an individual who feels compelled to leave work as a result of domestic violence must first wait until the separation from employment is adjudicated by Pennsylvania’s Office of Unemployment Compensation of the Department of Labor and Industry. Unemployment benefits are denied until that adjudication is complete and approved. The new law bypasses that requirement for individuals who have either voluntarily left work or failed to attend work due to a domestic violence situation, if continued employment would jeopardize the safety of that individual or a member of the individual’s family or household.

Key points here are that the person leaving his or her employment need not be the victim of domestic violence and that person need not attain a Protection from Abuse Order to qualify for the new “express lane.” Verification of domestic violence may be through a protection from abuse order, but also through any of the following: a court record, such as from a criminal or juvenile court proceeding; medical treatment records; child protective services records; a statement supporting a recent incident of domestic violence from a counselor, shelter worker, member of the clergy, attorney, healthcare worker; or a similar statement from a friend or relative from whom the individual sought assistance. Also, such prioritizing of an unemployment claim can be based on the individual’s self-affirmation that continued employment would jeopardize the safety of the individual or a member of the individual’s family or household because of the domestic violence. The new law also allows for any such expedited claim to be based on any other type of evidence that reasonably proves domestic violence.

Does HB 274 create a new classification of unemployment recipients? At least theoretically, no. The intention is merely to allow persons who lose their job as a direct or indirect result of domestic violence to have their claim expedited to reduce the burden on those individuals.

So how could this apply in the real world? Suppose that mother and father are living together with their two children and mother seriously physically assaults one of the children. Child Protective Services gets involved and there is an indicated finding of abuse and mother is either arrested or voluntarily leaves the home. Father is left with no childcare and an injured child and has to leave his job. Father can take either records of the criminal case or the abuse investigation to the Office of Unemployment Compensation and seek unemployment benefits without having to wait on an adjudication of the legitimacy of his leaving his job.

Similarly, say wife works for husband’s professional practice. There is an incident of domestic violence at home where wife is the victim. Wife cannot go back to work for fear of another incident between husband and wife. Wife may or may not have obtained a Protection from Abuse order. Husband fires wife for job abandonment and challenges her claim for unemployment. Under prior practice, wife would need to spend months adjudicating the legitimacy of her termination to get benefits. Under the new law, wife can now confidentially submit a statement from any domestic violence counselor or attorney saying that wife’s safety would be jeopardized if she continued in her position as husband’s administrator.

As part of my practice, I try to stay up-do-date on legislative developments in Pennsylvania touching on the practice of family law. If you have an issue in the area of divorce, custody, support or domestic violence, I would be happy to discuss it with you.