The PWFA, which has been in force since June 27, 2023, expands protections for qualified individuals in the workforce by requiring employers with 15 or more employees to make reasonable accommodations for known limitations of...more
4/17/2024
/ Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Labor Reform ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Reasonable Accommodation
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which became effective on June 27, 2023, expands protections for pregnant employees and applicants by requiring employers with 15 or more employees to make reasonable accommodations to known...more
8/10/2023
/ Breastfeeding ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Reasonable Accommodation
On June 30, 2023, the Supreme Court issued its decision in 303 Creative, LLC v. Elenis. In a 6-3 opinion authored by Justice Gorsuch, a divided Supreme Court held that the First Amendment’s free speech protection bars...more
On May 17, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2023-2 (FAB) to provide guidance to its field staff on the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing...more
The Global Guide Quarterly (GGQ) is a newsletter Littler publishes on a quarterly basis to provide a general update on global labor and employment (L&E) law developments in key countries in the American, EMEA, and APAC...more
On December 22, 2022, the 117th Congress passed with bipartisan support an omnibus spending bill, which includes two measures that expand rights for pregnant and nursing workers: the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and...more
12/29/2022
/ Breastfeeding ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Labor Reform ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Pending Legislation ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Wage and Hour
Nearly two-and-a-half years after it was originally proposed, the Allegheny County Council passed a Paid Sick Leave law (the “Act”) in September 2021 to require employers to provide certain employees in Allegheny County with...more
As previously reported, New York City’s vaccination mandate for private employers goes into effect on December 27, 2021. This measure, issued as an order from the New York City health commissioner in response to a public...more
12/17/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Local Ordinance ,
Masks ,
New York ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
New York City recently implemented the Key to NYC Pass, which requires patrons and employees of certain indoor entertainment, recreation, dining, and fitness establishments to prove that they have received at least one dose...more
8/20/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Entertainment Venues ,
Health and Safety ,
Individual Mandate ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Local Ordinance ,
NYCHRL ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports ,
Workplace Safety
In a long-awaited decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed a trial court ruling and held that Winn-Dixie had not discriminated against a visually impaired customer who alleged that Winn-Dixie’s...more
On December 8, 2020, Pittsburgh’s City Council unanimously passed a Temporary COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, which Mayor Peduto signed on December 9, 2020. The Ordinance, which took effect immediately, requires...more
Citing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania with significantly higher daily case counts than in the spring and rising hospitalizations, Commonwealth Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine announced additional...more
11/20/2020
/ Colleges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Quarantine ,
Risk Mitigation ,
State and Local Government ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Universities ,
Workplace Safety
In October 2020, both Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and the City of Pittsburgh passed Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair (CROWN) Acts, which prohibit discrimination based on hairstyle and “protective...more
On May 8, 2020, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf moved 24 counties from the “red” to “yellow” phase under his Process to Reopen Pennsylvania. Those counties are: Bradford, Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton,...more
On May 1, 2020, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced that, effective May 8, 2020, 24 Pennsylvania counties will be moved from the “red” to “yellow” phase under the governor’s Process to Reopen Pennsylvania....more
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levine, M.D. issued an Order on April 15 aimed at preventing further spread of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth. The Order was immediately effective, but it will not be enforced until 8:00...more
There were several developments in Pennsylvania this week regarding orders dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Governor Tom Wolf extended his “stay at home” order to all counties in the Commonwealth. The governor also...more
On March 23, 2020, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health Rachel Levine, M.D. issued two stay at home Orders mandating that residents in seven counties—Allegheny (Pittsburgh),...more
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Paid Sick Days Act will (finally) take effect on March 15, 2020, the effective date triggered when the Mayor's Office of Equity (“MOE”) released guidelines on December 16, 2019. On February 15,...more
After more than a four-year delay, the City of Pittsburgh’s Paid Sick Days Act (“the Ordinance”) will go into effect on March 15, 2020. The city passed the Ordinance in August 2015, but its authority to pass such a law was...more
12/23/2019
/ Accrual Requirements ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Carry-Over Basis ,
Covered Employees ,
Covered Employer ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Posting Requirements ,
Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour
On July 17, 2019, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held the City of Pittsburgh's Paid Sick Days Act (PSDA) was a valid exercise of the City's "express statutory authority to legislate in furtherance of disease control and...more
At the end of September 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) responded to a June letter sent by 103 members of the U.S. House of Representatives asking it to take steps to stop the flood of lawsuits being filed against...more
On June 4, 2018, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. and Jack C. Phillips v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. In a 7-2 opinion authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Court held that the...more
6/5/2018
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
First Amendment ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Free Speech ,
LGBTQ ,
Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd v Colorado Civil Rights Commission ,
Private Sector ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Reversal ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS
On February 26, 2018, a majority of the entire U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held, in Zarda v. Altitude Express Inc., that Title VII prohibits workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. With...more
2/27/2018
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Over the past 18 months, the number of claims being filed over website accessibility has increased dramatically. Although courts continue to differ as to whether websites are places of public accommodation covered by Title...more
6/22/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Grocery Stores ,
Public Accommodation ,
Rewards Programs ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites ,
Winn-Dixie Stores