Governor Wolf’s office announced on Tuesday that all COVID-19 mitigation orders will be lifted on Memorial Day, except for the mask mandate. While this is certainly welcome news, and another sign that the pandemic might be on its way out, it is not necessarily a free pass for employers to throw all caution to the
Workplace Trends
DOL ISSUES CYBERSECURITY GUIDANCE FOR EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
On Thursday April 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor announced guidance for plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries, record keepers and plan participants on best practices for maintaining cybersecurity. This is the first time the Department has issued guidance on cybersecurity for employee benefit plans.
The guidance includes tips for plan sponsors and fiduciaries in selecting…
Nanny Cams & Workplace Privacy: PA Supreme Court Provides Clarity on Domestic Employees’ Expectation of Privacy
By Adam Santucci & Conner Porterfield. Conner is a third-year law student at Rutgers University School of Law with an expected graduation date of May 2021.
In the recent decision of Commonwealth v. Mason, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that a nanny did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy while working inside the…
Why the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act) Keeps us Awake at Night
The United States House of Representatives has passed the PRO Act, which now moves to the Senate for consideration. If passed, the PRO Act would probably be the most radical, and union friendly, change to U.S. labor law since the passage of the National Labor Relations Act (Act) in 1935. And it is keeping us…
Are Medical Marijuana Users Protected by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act?
The answer to this question is . . . it depends. Based on three recent court decisions, whether the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (“PHRA”) protects medical marijuana (“MMJ”) users from discrimination on the basis of their current use of MMJ appears to depend on the specific accommodation requested by the user. We summarize these key…
New Jersey Legalized Recreational Cannabis – What do Pennsylvania Employers Need to Know?
On February 22, 2021, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed three bills that legalize the use of cannabis for those over the age of 21, decriminalize possession of less than six ounces of cannabis and establish civil penalties for use by anyone under age 21. The bills are the enabling legislation following a constitutional amendment…
Vaccines: Where are We?
After the country waited with anticipation for the better part of a year for a vaccine that would return us to some sense of normalcy, the FDA finally approved two vaccines in December. The plan was to vaccinate frontline healthcare workers first – for obvious and understandable reasons. It was also the plan that 20…
Congress Passes Coronavirus Relief Bill Extending FFCRA Leave Tax Credits, But Not Mandatory FFCRA Leave Itself
On December 21, 2020, Congress passed a $900 billion coronavirus relief bill (“relief bill”) as part of a broader spending bill for fiscal year 2021. President Trump signed the relief bill on December 27, 2020. In anticipation of any coronavirus relief, employers and HR professionals have been asking whether Congress would extend mandatory paid leave…
PA Federal Court Upholds Private Right of Action under the PA Medical Marijuana Act
Earlier this month, in the case of Hudnell v. Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, District Court Judge Gerald Pappert denied Jefferson’s motion to dismiss Hudnell’s claims for violation of the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act (“Act”), making him the second judge in Pennsylvania to uphold the right of a certified medical marijuana user to bring a cause…
DOL Issues Revised FFCRA Regulations
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued revisions to its Temporary Rule implementing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) on Friday, September 11, 2020 (the “Revised Temporary Rule”). The Revised Temporary Rule was issued in response to the decision by U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken of the Southern District of New York on August…