Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Help Wanted Act”.
Help Wanted Act
A BILL
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.
Sec. 2 Reinstating State work requirements
In general— Subtitle A of title II of division A of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (15 U.S.C. 9023(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“2119. State work requirements
“As a condition of any agreement under section 2102(f), section 2104(a), or section 2107(a), a State may not modify its unemployment compensation law and policies with respect to work search requirements under the authority of section 4102(b) of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (26 U.S.C. 3304 note).”
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance— Section 2107(a)(7) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (15 U.S.C. 9025(a)(7)) is amended to read as follows:
“(7) Actively seeking work—For purposes of paragraph (2)(D), the term “actively seeking work” means, with respect to any individual, that such individual—
“(A) is registered for employment services in such a manner and to such extent as prescribed by the State agency;
“(B) has engaged in an active search for employment that is appropriate in light of the employment available in the labor market, the individual’s skills and capabilities, and includes a number of employer contacts that is consistent with the standards communicated to the individual by the State;
“(C) has maintained a record of such work search, including employers contacted, method of contact, and date contacted; and
“(D) when requested, has provided such work search record to the State agency.”
Conforming amendment— Section 2 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act is amended in the table of contents by inserting after the item related to section 2118 the following:
Sec. 3 Voluntary departure
Section 2102(a)(3)(A)(ii)(I) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (15 U.S.C. 9021(a)(3)(A)(ii)(I)) is amended by striking item (ii).
Sec. 4 Safety concerns
Section 2102(a)(3)(B) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (15 U.S.C. 9021(a)(3)(B)) is amended—
in clause (i), by striking “or”;
in clause (ii), by striking the period and inserting “; or”; and
by inserting at the end the following:
“(iii) an individual who declines to work on the basis of safety concerns related to COVID–19.”