PTLA scored a major legislative win when Governor Rendell signed Senate Bill 464 into law as Act 15 of 2005 on June 15, 2005.
On February 3, 2005 the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania issued a decision in Harkness v. UCBR stating that non-lawyers cannot represent corporate employers in unemployment compensation hearings. This decision had an immediate financial impact on most PTLA members and other businesses in the state that had either used their internal management, or an outside non-lawyer entity at all UC hearings.
The PTLA Board of Directors took immediate action on March 15, 2005 by adopting a position in support of legislation providing a legislative remedy to the Commonwealth Court decision.
We also surveyed our members to determine if they had incurred any legal expenses as a result of this case. A number of members indicated they already had paid attorney fees ranging from $200 to $800 on UC hearings.
In April 2005, Senator Joseph Scanati (R-Jefferson) introduced a Senate Bill 462 designed to overturn the Harkness case.
The Senate Labor and Industry Committee held a public hearing on the measure on April 19, 2005. The Legislature took swift action on the bill with Senate approval on May 11 and House approval on June 7.
PTLA initiated a statewide grassroots campaign asking its members to contact lawmakers in support of the bill as it moved through the legislature.
The restoration of the UC appeals procedures that existed prior to the Harkness case saved PTLA members hundreds of dollars in legal expenses that they would have incurred if the court case had not been overturned.
