Q: Can you provide an overview of Election Day 2020 ballot measures approved by voters that may impact the workplace? ...more
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry recently amended Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act (PMWA) regulations to increase the minimum salary employees must receive in 2021 and beyond to qualify for one of the so-called...more
10/8/2020
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Salary ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Who Needs to Know -
Employers who are reopening (or have already reopened) and bringing employees back to their workplaces – or restructuring their workforces as a result of changing business conditions related to the...more
10/2/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Remote Working ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act ,
Workplace Safety
Q: What do I need to know about the recently enacted Philadelphia ordinance providing Philadelphia employees with paid public health emergency leave? ...more
Who Needs to Know -
Employers who are reopening (or have already reopened) by bringing employees back to their workplaces.
Why It Matters -
Bringing a workforce back to the workplace, whether from teleworking,...more
9/25/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cost-Savings ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Furloughs ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Remote Working ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
As we previously covered, on August 3, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) struck down four parts of the regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) implementing the Families...more
9/17/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Intermittent Leave ,
Labor Regulations ,
Paid Leave ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Required Documentation ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour
Who Needs to Know -
Employers who are reopening (or have already reopened) by bringing employees back to their workplaces.
Why It Matters -
Bringing a workforce back to the workplace, whether from teleworking,...more
9/15/2020
/ ADEA ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Q. How will the federal court decision impact business policies and practices that address FFCRA leave?...more
8/7/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Furloughs ,
Health Care Providers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Intermittent Leave ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour
Businesses have begun to feel the pinch as state orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in the shutdown of facilities across the country. As a result, many companies are being forced to make difficult decisions...more
As the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to present challenges to employers worldwide, we have created this frequently asked questions document to answer some of the most common questions we have been hearing from clients,...more
3/16/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Best Practices ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Layoffs ,
Leave of Absence ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Leave ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act ,
Workplace Safety
With more than 90,000 cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) across 65 countries, it is only a matter of time before the disease has an impact on normal business operations. However, as the virus continues its march around the...more
3/11/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Business Operations ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Leave of Absence ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Public Health ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sick Leave ,
Traveling Employee ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled that a Philadelphia city ordinance that prohibits Philadelphia employers from asking applicants about their current or past pay rates is constitutional....more
2/11/2020
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Pay ,
First Amendment ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Equity ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour
January 2020 was a busy month for New Jersey’s executive branch. Governor Phil Murphy signed into law at least five workplace-related bills, one of which revised the New Jersey mini-WARN Act, one granting state regulators...more
1/29/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Layoff Notices ,
Layoffs ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Part-Time Employees ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Severance Agreements ,
Severance Pay ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stop Work Orders ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act
Q: I heard that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently issued a major ruling regarding overtime pay. What do I need to know? ...more
12/10/2019
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Fluctuating Workweek ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
PA Supreme Court ,
Rate of Pay ,
Salaried Employees ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
On September 24 — more than five years after the Obama administration first proposed updating the overtime regulations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) — the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released the final version of...more
9/24/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Q. Can you explain to me Philadelphia’s new Fair Workweek Ordinance?
A. In late December 2018, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney signed an Ordinance that will require large fast-food chains, retailers, and hotels to provide...more
Q. I suspect that our company may have inadvertently committed overtime and minimum wage violations. Is there a way I can make this right without incurring substantial legal liability?
...more
In a ruling that could provide a roadmap for challenging salary history bans in other jurisdictions, a Philadelphia federal judge issued an opinion on April 30 invalidating a major element of the Philadelphia salary history...more
5/2/2018
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Pay ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Q: I have employees working in Maryland. What do I need to know and do in order to comply with Maryland’s new paid sick leave law?
A: The Maryland Healthy Working Family Act (the “Act”) went into effect on February 11,...more
Q. Our company wants to establish an internship program and host student interns to work alongside our employees. Do we need to pay the interns?
A. Possibly. Over the past few years, courts and the Department of Labor...more
1/17/2018
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internships ,
Misclassification ,
Primary Beneficiary Test ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Unpaid Interns ,
Wage and Hour
Q: Do I need to pay non-exempt employees when they go on short rest breaks of 20 minutes or less?
A: Yes.
The United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) has long taken the position that when employers offer non-exempt...more
Q: Do I need to pay my employees if my company has closed or temporarily shut down operations due to a natural disaster or inclement weather?
A: It depends.
In the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and in...more
9/26/2017
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Hurricane Irma ,
Hurricane Season ,
Natural Disasters ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Salaried Employees ,
Severe Weather ,
Wage and Hour
Q. What is the status of the EEOC’s requirement that we submit pay data with our annual EEO-1 Form? Also, have there been any updates on the lawsuit blocking the DOL’s rule raising the salary basis for certain non-exempt...more
9/8/2017
/ Data Collection ,
EEO-1 ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
OMB ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Gap ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
In the week leading up to Labor Day, two major employment law initiatives of former President Barack Obama’s Labor Department came to a halt. First, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) put a stop to the...more
9/7/2017
/ Data Collection ,
EEO-1 ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
OMB ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Gap ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
On November 22, just eight days before the much-discussed amendments to the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (Final Rule) were scheduled to take effect, a federal district court judge for the Eastern...more