Starting June 1, 2021, the Philadelphia Office of Worker Protections will begin enforcement of predictability pay as part of the Philadelphia Fair Week Work Ordinance.
Articles About Pennsylvania Labor And Employment Law.
Philadelphia Enacts Amendments to and Expands Coverage of its Background Screening Ordinances
For years, Philadelphia has maintained ordinances substantially restricting employers’ use of criminal record and credit histories in employment screening.1 These regulations are in addition to, not in lieu of, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) restrictions applicable nationwide and Pennsylvania’s state-wide Criminal History Record Information Act (CHRIA). The
Pennsylvania’s Common Law Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy Tort May Protect Whistleblower Employees Regarding COVID-19 Safety Policies
THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA HAS ALLOWED A GROUP OF PLAINTIFFS TO PROCEED WITH A LAWSUIT ALLEGING THEY WERE WRONGFULLY TERMINATED FOR COMPLAINING THAT THEIR EMPLOYER VIOLATED STATE AND LOCAL COVID-19 ORDERS
Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana User May Proceed With Disability Discrimination And Retaliation Claims
A federal court in Pennsylvania held that a medical marijuana user’s claims for disability discrimination and retaliation were sufficiently alleged to survive the employer’s motion to dismiss. Hudnell v. Jefferson University Hospitals, Inc., Civil Action No. 20-01621 (E.D. Pa. Jan. 7, 2021).
The employer terminated the employee’s employment after she
Pittsburgh Ordinance Requires Employers to Provide Paid Sick Leave for COVID-19-Related Reasons, Effective Immediately
On December 8, 2020, Pittsburgh’s City Council unanimously passed a Temporary COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, which Mayor Peduto signed on December 9, 2020. The Ordinance, which took effect immediately, requires employers with 50 or more total employees to provide up to 80 hours of paid “COVID-19 Sick Time”
COVID-19 Leave Arrives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
On December 9, 2020, Pittsburgh Mayor Peduto signed a new ordinance granting COVID-19 Sick Time to certain employees working within the City.
Interaction with Pittsburgh Paid Sick Days Act
This ordinance supplements the Pittsburgh Paid Sick Days Act (“PSDA”), which took effect earlier this year in March. The ordinance also
Does the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act Require Accommodation of Medical Marijuana Use? Not (For Now)
In Harrisburg Area Community College v. Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, No. 654 C.D. 2019, (October 29, 2020), the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania recently examined the interaction between Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act (MMA) and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA). Specifically, the court addressed whether the PHRA’s prohibition against disability discrimination
Pennsylvania Court Affirms Unemployment Benefits for Medical Marijuana User
A Pennsylvania Appeals Court affirmed an order granting unemployment benefits to a medical marijuana user who was terminated by his employer for a positive drug test. The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Auth. v. Unemployment Comp. Bd. of Review, Case No. 228 C.D. 2020 (Commw. Ct. Pa. Nov. 18, 2020).
The
Pennsylvania Issues Stricter COVID-19 Mitigation Measures
Citing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania with significantly higher daily case counts than in the spring and rising hospitalizations, Commonwealth Secretary of Health Dr.
Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Pass CROWN Acts
In October 2020, both Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and the City of Pittsburgh passed Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair (CROWN) Acts, which prohibit discrimination based on hairstyle and “protective and cultural hair textures and hairstyles” (i.e., those that are commonly associated with certain groups that are
Federal Court Finds Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act Contains Implied Private Right of Action
On September 25, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania became the first federal court in the Third Circuit to rule that Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act (MMA) allows an employee to bring a private lawsuit against his or her employer for taking an adverse employment action
Pennsylvania’s New Overtime Salary Thresholds Take Effect
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry’s (DLI) amendments to the regulations that exempt executive, administrative, and professional (so-called “white collar”) salaried workers from overtime requirements under the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act of 1968 (PMWA) went into effect on October 3, 2020. The amended regulations were originally approved on January
Philadelphia: Public Health Emergency Leave; Healthcare Worker Pandemic Pay, Benefits
Philadelphia workers who are not covered by federal sick leave laws, such as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), are entitled to paid sick leave benefits under the new public health emergency leave bill (amending Chapter 9-4100 of the Philadelphia Code) signed by Mayor Jim Kenney. The new leave
Pennsylvania Expands Overtime Pay Beyond Federal Thresholds
This past weekend, Governor Tom Wolf’s new legislation went into effect, expanding Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage Act (MWA) regulating overtime pay. The legislation increases the minimum salary an employee can earn and still be eligible for overtime.
Pennsylvania Rule Increasing White Collar Exemption Salary Threshold Takes Effect
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) published its final rule to substantially increase the salary threshold for qualifying as an exempt Executive, Administrative and Professional (EAP) employee under the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act (PMWA). The regulation increases the EAP salary threshold under Pennsylvania law to:
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