If your business operates in Maryland, you need to be aware of SB 839, a law that took effect February 29, 2020.  SB 839 prohibits employers with 15 or more full-time employees from asking job applicants about their criminal history prior to the first in-person interview.  Specifically, the law precludes employers from asking applicants whether

On February 26, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board issued a final rule governing joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act.  The final rule restores the test that the Board had applied for several decades prior to the 2015 Obama-era decision in Browning-Ferris.  The final rule also provides more clear guidance on the issue,

Two years ago, the first medical marijuana dispensary opened in Pennsylvania.  Since that time, well over a hundred thousand Pennsylvania residents have become certified to use medical marijuana, additional conditions were added to the listed of qualifying serious health conditions and employers started to field questions from employees who wanted to use (or already were

As a follow up to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in April 2019, the US Department of Labor (DOL) announced on January 12, 2020, the issuance of a Final Rule to revise and clarify the standard for joint employment status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The DOL explained that the Final Rule

Employers of drivers who hold commercial driver’s licenses (CDL) have been subject to U.S. Department of Transportation drug and alcohol testing requirements for over twenty-five years. These regulations, enforced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), require that any driver who fails (or refuses to take) a mandated drug or alcohol test must be

A lot of times, determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee is tough.  Different laws have different standards, and government agencies and the courts often apply different tests in addressing this question.  Under any test, the analysis is highly fact intensive, and the consequences of misclassification can be steep.

Luckily, the

As the summer begins to wind down, the first whispers of fall rippling through cool evening breezes are a welcome reminder that school is back in session. That means it’s an opportune time for Pennsylvania’s 500 public school districts and many charter schools to examine their policies governing employee reporting of arrests and convictions and

In a key decision for many franchisors and franchisees, and others who rely on independent contractors, the National Labor Relations Board recently reinstated its test for examining contractor status.  In 2014, the Obama-era NLRB, in a case involving Fed Ex delivery drivers, “refined” its test for examining contractor status. The refinement was really a fundamental

At the end of 2018, the Superior Court of Delaware held that a terminated employee could proceed with his lawsuit, alleging that his employer terminated him for being a medical marijuana cardholder.  Chance v. Kraft Heinz Foods Co.  In allowing the suit to move forward, the Delaware Court found that the anti-discrimination language in the

As explained in Part 1 of this four-part series, we are exploring some of the more recent state law developments addressing sexual harassment in the workplace. Since the #MeToo movement began over a year ago, there have been various reactions from employees, employers and state legislatures. Employees have reacted by filing more internal and external