On September 24, 2024, the Pittsburgh City Council passed a new ordinance prohibiting discrimination against an individual’s status as a medical marijuana patient. Mayor Ed Gainey signed the ordinance the same day, making it effective immediately.
Articles Discussing General Topics In Pennsylvania Labor & Employment Law.
Pittsburgh to Limit Employers’ Ability to Drug-Test Medical Marijuana Patients
The Pittsburgh City Council unanimously passed an ordinance prohibiting discrimination against medical marijuana patients in the workplace and limiting certain types of marijuana drug testing by employers as to these patients. Mayor Ed Gainey is expected to sign the measure and it will take effect immediately after signing.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Bans Healthcare Practitioner Noncompete Agreements Longer Than 1 Year
In a major noncompete development for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, beginning January 1, 2025, certain noncompete agreements with doctors, registered nurses, and other healthcare practitioners will no longer be enforceable in Pennsylvania.
Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Jumps on Ban-the-Box Trend With New Human Relations Ordinance
The Board of Commissioners in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, has passed the Lehigh County Human Relations Ordinance to ensure equal opportunities for all individuals concerning employment, housing, education, healthcare, and public accommodations, without regard to actual or perceived protected characteristics. The Ordinance includes restrictions on employers’ use and reliance on an applicant’s background information in making a hiring decision.
Philadelphia Mayor’s Mandate Requiring Return to In-Person Work Prevails in Court of Common Pleas
Mayor Cherelle Parker’s mandate requiring City of Philadelphia remote workers to return to their offices took effect on July 15, 2024, following the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas judge’s denial of a local union’s request for preliminary and permanent injunction. In her capacity as chief executive of the government of
5 City Ordinances Every Employer With Employees in Philadelphia Should Know
The City of Philadelphia maintains several employment-specific ordinances that enhance preexisting state and federal employee protections or create new employment rights. Some of these apply even if the employer has only one employee in Philadelphia.
School’s Out for the Summer: Ensuring Compliance when Employing Minors in Pennsylvania
There are restrictions and prohibitions related to employing minors in Pennsylvania, including impermissible occupations and establishments for which minors cannot work, and limitations on hours of work under the Pennsylvania Child Labor Act (CLA).
Does the Statute of Limitations Ever Apply in Pennsylvania Legal Malpractice Claims?
That’s the question on the minds of many in the legal malpractice community after a noteworthy decision in Pennsylvania.
Employers Face June 1, 2024 Deadline to Comply with Lehigh County, Pennsylvania’s New Expansive Anti-Discrimination Ordinance
The Lehigh County Human Relations Ordinance was enacted February 26, 2024, establishing county-specific non-discrimination requirements for employment, housing, education, health care and public accommodations. The ordinance also creates a Lehigh County Human Relations Commission charged with investigating and enforcing claims of discrimination. The ordinance becomes effective June 1, 2024.
Expanded
Reminder: Dependent Care Assistance Is Now Excludable in Pennsylvania, Retroactive to 2023 Tax Year
With tax day quickly approaching on April 15, 2024, employers in Pennsylvania may want to take note of a December 2023 state tax law that might have flown under the radar. The law made employee contributions to employer-provided dependent care assistance programs excludable for income tax purposes, retroactive to the
Update on Medical Marijuana Reimbursements in Pennsylvania ›
The Commonwealth Court has issued multiple opinions addressing payment of medical marijuana and CBD oil prescriptions per the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act
Philadelphia’s COVID-19 Leave Law Expires, but City’s Healthcare Epidemic Leave Benefit Remains on the Books
The City of Philadelphia recently updated its website to make clear that while the city’s COVID-19 leave law expired on December 31, 2023, the city’s Health Care Epidemic Leave Benefit remains in effect.
Philadelphia’s COVID-19 Sick Leave Law Expires
Philadelphia’s COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave law expired on December 31, 2023. As a result, as of January 1, 2024, employers are no longer required to provide additional paid sick leave to employees when they are absent for certain COVID-19 reasons.
That said, employers should be mindful that they may
City of Pittsburgh to Strictly Enforce Paid Sick Days Ordinance, Investigate Food Service Industry
The City of Pittsburgh’s Office of Equal Protection (OEP) has announced that it will begin strict enforcement and compliance checks for local businesses to ensure they are complying with their obligations under the Pittsburgh Paid Sick Days Act (Ordinance). The “compliance campaign” will focus on the food services industry.
Learn more here.
New Pennsylvania Legislation and Philadelphia Ordinance Amendment Tackle Pardoned Convictions, Expunged Records, and Negligent Hiring Liability
Pennsylvania and Philadelphia recently enacted changes that impact employer criminal background screening.
State Law
Enacted on December 14, 2023, and effective February 12, 2024, Pennsylvania’s House Bill No. 689 amends Pennsylvania law relating to the expungement of certain criminal record information and employer immunity when hiring individuals with expunged