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 Discussing General Topics In Pennsylvania Labor & 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 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
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
Federal Court Holds Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act Provides Private Right of Action
A Pennsylvania federal court refused to dismiss an employee’s claim for violation of the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act (MMA), reasoning that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is likely to recognize a private cause of action under the MMA. Hudnell v. Jefferson University Hospitals, Inc., Civil Action No. 20-01621 (E.D. Pa. Sept.
Philadelphia Expands Entitlement to Paid Sick Leave for Workers Not Covered by FFCRA
On September 17, 2020, six months after Mayor Jim Kenney issued Executive Order 3-20, a Declaration of Emergency Related to the Known and Potential Presence of the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 in Philadelphia, he signed into law Bill No. 200303, a temporary amendment expanding the City of Philadelphia’s paid sick leave
Philadelphia Pandemic Laws Require Additional Paid Leave for Employees and Gig Workers, Other Pay and Benefits for Healthcare Workers
On September 17, 2020, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mayor Phil Kenney signed File Number 200303, an amendment to the city’s generally applicable paid sick and safe time law, the Promoting Healthy Families and Workplaces Ordinance (PHFWO). The amendment requires new public health emergency leave (PHEL) for employees, gig workers, and others
Pennsylvania Federal Judge Finds Governor Wolf’s Pandemic Restrictions Unconstitutional
Pennsylvania’s gathering limitations, business shutdown and stay-at-home orders violate the United States Constitution, according to a federal judge in the Western District of Pennsylvania, who enjoined enforcement of those orders on September 14, 2020.1 While the court acknowledged that the “defendants undertook their actions in a well-intentioned effort to protect
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