On January 10, 2023, Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Wright addressed the question that has been plaguing employers since the passage of the PA Medical Marijuana Act (the “Act”) – what constitutes being “under the influence” for purposes of the Act’s safety exception? As a reminder, when the Act was passed, the
Employer Liability
New Federal Pregnancy Protections for Employees
By Conner Porterfield on
Posted in Employer Liability
As part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, Congress passed two new pregnancy-related laws requiring covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees due to pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions. The two new laws are the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), effective June 27, 2023, and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing…
Is it the Beginning of the End for Workplace Non-Compete Agreements?
By Mark Hipple on
Posted in Employer Liability
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making and additional information describing a new proposed rule that would prohibit employers across the country from entering into non-compete agreements with their workforce. The FTC’s press release and related information on the proposed rule can be found here.…
How to Get Ahead of Equal Pay Act Claims
By Adam Santucci on
Posted in Employer Liability
A recent press release by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) demonstrates that Equal Pay Act claims are becoming increasingly common. The EEOC in Baltimore, MD announced that an auto dealership agreed to pay $62,500 to resolve an Equal Pay Act claim by a female employee. The employee had alleged that she was being…
Thinking about a Reorganization or Rightsizing? Here are Five Key Questions for your Organization to Consider Now
By Kelley Kaufman & Adam Santucci on
Posted in Employer Liability, Termination
As the negative economic outlook continues to fill our news and social media feeds, many organizations are pondering what an economic shift may mean for their business. Others have moved on to the next stage of grief, acceptance, and have started to plan ahead. For some organizations, this means considering, and possibly implementing, a reorganization…
More on Workplace Surveillance
By Adam Santucci & Conner Porterfield on
Posted in Employer Liability, Workplace Compliance
Our blog post on Nanny Cams in the workplace turned out to be one of our most popular posts (makes us wonder what people are putting in the search bar?). So, we thought we would follow up with some more information for employers about surveillance in the workplace.
Employers with unionized workforces will need to…
NLRB Holds Employers Must Continue Dues Checkoff After Expiration of Collective Bargaining Agreement
By Bill Boak on
Posted in Employer Liability, Unions
In Valley Hospital Medical Center, 371 NLRB No. 160 (Sept. 30, 2022) (Valley Hospital II), a divided National Labor Relations Board held that employers must continue to deduct union dues from employees’ pay and remit such dues to their union – a process known as “dues checkoff” – even after the expiration of…
L&I Report Sets its Sights on Misclassified Construction Workers
By Austin Wolfe on
Posted in Employer Liability
A recent report from a Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry task force describes the economic impact of worker misclassification in Pennsylvania and makes several significant recommendations to the legislature. These recommendations, if implemented, could dramatically impact how some Pennsylvania employers manage their workforce, particularly those employers in the construction industry.
The report was issued…
Sixth Circuit Dissolves Stay of OSHA ETS, Permitting OSHA to Resume Implementation of ETS
By Andrew L. Levy & Bill Boak on
Posted in Employer Liability, Workplace Compliance
On December 17, 2021, a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit dissolved the stay of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) that had previously been issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. We summarized the…
COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors is Now Blocked Nationwide
By Adam R. Long & Abbegael Giunta on
Posted in Employer Liability, Workplace Compliance
Last week, we shared that a federal district court in Kentucky issued a preliminary injunction blocking the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors and subcontractors in all covered contracts in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. See Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Biden, No. 3:21-cv-00055 (E.D. Ky. Nov. 30, 2021).
Yesterday, a federal district court…