Earlier this month Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act to the Senate floor. The proposed bill, which would supplement the Pregnancy Discrimination Act enacted by Congress in 1978, borrows the reasonable accommodation framework of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Specifically, the bill would require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees limited by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
Continue Reading U.S. Senate Introduces Pregnant Workers Anti-Discrimination Bill

On July 5, 2012, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett signed into law the Public Works Employment Verification Act (“Act”), which requires state public works contractors and subcontractors to use the E-Verify program operated by the Department of Homeland Security. The E-Verify program is a free online system that compares information from an employee’s Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to government records to instantly confirm employment eligibility.
Continue Reading New Law to Mandate Use of E-Verify by Public Works Contractors and Subcontractors

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) imposes a general requirement that employers pay overtime to non-exempt employees for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per workweek. Section 7(j) of FLSA provides, however, that certain employers in the health care industry can rely on the “8/80” method of overtime calculation instead of the standard 40 hour workweek approach.

A 2010 decision by the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas called in to question whether the 8/80 method was permissible under the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act. On June 28, 2012, however, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett was presented with legislation, seemingly in response to the court’s decision, that would amend the PMWA to permit use of the 8/80 method by health care institutions in the Commonwealth.
Continue Reading Proposed Legislation To Reverse Court Decision, Permit Pennsylvania Health Care Institutions to Rely on 8/80 Overtime Method

Last month, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett signed into law an unemployment compensation ("UC") reform bill. The law, considered by many to be largely pro-employer, is designed to restore solvency to the state’s unemployment compensation trust fund by 2019. Several of the major provisions of the UC reform law are outlined below.

  • The law authorizes the Commonwealth

In recent weeks, identical bills were proposed in the House (H.R. 4123) and Senate (S. 2145) to eliminate the so-called “safe harbor” in the federal tax code that protects businesses that have misclassified employees as independent contractors and, thus, have avoided paying payroll taxes, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation premiums and other costs. These bills mark the second time in 18 months that such legislation has been put forward. Though unlikely to pass, especially in this gridlocked Congress, the bills are just the latest in a number of recent endeavors by state and federal lawmakers and law enforcement agencies to curb independent contractor misclassification.

While the bills recognize that many workers are properly classified as independent contractors, the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that as many as 30% of employers are misclassifying employees as independent contractors. According to the IRS, approximately $54 billion in tax revenues are lost annually because of independent contractor misclassification. These agencies are now taking action to police misclassification and curb abuse.
Continue Reading Independent Contractor Misclassification in the Crosshairs

Many watched intently in early February as the political theater unfolded in Madison, Wisconsin when Republican Governor Scott Walker proposed legislation to limit the collective bargaining rights of most state government employees. In a matter of days, the Capitol would be swarming with protesters and demonstrators on both sides of the issue. What followed was weeks of sit-ins in the Capitol, a mass walkout by all 14 Democratic State Senators to block a vote on the proposed law, the unprecedented recall elections of 6 Republican and 3 Democratic state lawmakers and a bitterly fought campaign to unseat an incumbent State Supreme Court Justice widely viewed as a pro-Walker.

Observers on both sides generally agree though that the movement to reform public sector collective bargaining rights has invigorated the debate on the role of unions in today’s uncertain economic climate.
Continue Reading The State of State Unions: A Year in Review

This week, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter signed the Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards Ordinance (the "Ordinance").  This “ban the box” legislation is designed to limit Philadelphia employers’ ability to request applicants’ criminal history information in the initial steps of the hiring process. 

  • Who is Covered?  The Ordinance covers any person, corporation, company, labor organization

Today, Adam R. Long, Esq. of McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC’s Labor and Employment Group issued an Employer Alert titled "Effective January 10, 2011, New GINA Regulations Will Impact Common HR Practices."

The Employer Alert discusses the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (“GINA”), which prohibits the use of genetic information in employment decisions and restricts an

Independent contractor arrangements have come under fire lately from both state and federal governments. Pennsylvania recently went a step further, enacting legislation governing independent contractor arrangements in the construction industry. On October 13, 2010, the Construction Workplace Misclassification Act (the “Act”) was signed into law. The Act provides criteria for classifying independent contractors within the construction industry and

This post was contributed by Eric N. Athey, Esq., a Member in McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC’s Labor and Employment Law Practice Group.

As 2011 approaches, perhaps the biggest compliance issue for employers under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("PPACA") is whether it is advisable to retain "grandfathered" status for their health