In a sweeping series of executive orders (EO) issued on April 23, 2025, President Trump directed the federal government to take action on a series of education policy initiatives. Each of the seven EOs addresses a distinct...more
The long-rumored plan to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) took a formal step forward on March 20, 2025, when President Trump signed an Executive Order calling for the agency’s closure. While headlines suggest...more
The Office of Management and Budget issued a vaguely worded memorandum on Jan. 27, 2025, ordering a blanket freeze (with very limited exceptions) in all federal grants, federal loans, and other forms of federal financial...more
2/3/2025
/ Compliance ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Layoffs ,
OMB ,
State Labor Laws ,
Termination ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act
In the first days of his presidency, President Donald J. Trump made significant changes to the makeup and priorities of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). On the second day of his administration, President...more
1/31/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Compliance ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Reverse Discrimination ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Trump Administration
Employers in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania — including those who utilize independent contractors — must familiarize themselves with an unprecedented, comprehensive ordinance that recently took effect throughout much of the...more
Pennsylvania is joining the legislative bandwagon to limit noncompetition agreements for certain health care workers. In a purported effort to retain health care practitioners for the commonwealth and promote continuity of...more
The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records (OOR) has determined that investigations of alleged discrimination by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) are “noncriminal investigations,” and that associated records...more
New regulations that substantially expand protections against discrimination in employment, education, public accommodations and housing in Pennsylvania will take effect on Aug. 16, 2023.
On December 8, 2022, the...more
It’s not only the cost of eggs that is increasing. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has published in the Federal Register the annual increases in civil money penalties required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation...more
The Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act) is now in effect, requiring nearly all employers to provide break time and a private, non-bathroom space for lactating employees to pump and store...more
In a broad and sweeping exercise of regulatory power, on January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to prohibit employers from utilizing non-compete clauses. The...more
Using the regulatory process rather than legislation, Pennsylvania will substantially expand in 2023 protections against discrimination in employment, education, public accommodations and housing.
On December 8, 2022, the...more
OSHA has advised the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals that it is withdrawing the emergency temporary standard (ETS) for employers with 100 or more employees. Formal notice will be published in the Federal Register on January 26. ...more
The U.S. Supreme Court, by a 6-3 vote, issued a stay on January 13, 2022 that prevents the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from enforcing or implementing the COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS) it had...more
A federal appeals court on Friday revived the sweeping vaccine mandate for employers with 100 or more employees imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, but its fate remains unclear amid an immediate...more
UPDATED: On November 16, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit based in Cincinnati “won” the lottery. Here is the order. All pending cases challenging the ETS will be transferred to the 6th Circuit and a panel...more
As soon as the Occupational Safety and Heath Administration’s emergency temporary standard (ETS) was published in the Federal Register on November 5, 2021, litigants raced to the courthouse to file multiple challenges to the...more
The Biden administration has modified a September executive order (EO) to extend the vaccine mandate compliance deadline for federal contractors to January 4, 2022.
In a statement, the White House said the change was...more
Update – September 30, 2021: The Task Force issued a set of FAQs regarding the Guidance. Anticipating the upcoming release by OSHA of the ETS (see below), the FAQs make clear that covered contractors and subcontractors must...more
10/13/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Joe Biden ,
OSHA ,
Religious Exemption ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations
As part of a multipronged effort to attack the spread of COVID-19, President Joseph Biden issued an executive order (EO) on September 9, 2021 that ramps up safety protocols for federal contractors to include mandatory...more
9/13/2021
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Employees ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Joe Biden ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
School boards and the governing bodies of community colleges and other public entities in Pennsylvania will soon be required to publish a detailed agenda at least 24 hours in advance of a public meeting that outlines the...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) revised its guidance on May 28, 2021 to provide more specific advice on employers’ use of incentives to encourage vaccination against COVID-19. The good news is that the use...more
6/1/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Documentation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Guidance Update ,
Health Care Providers ,
Incentives ,
Personal Information ,
Vaccinations
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has signed the Living Donor Protection Act, a law that will protect leave from work related to organ and tissue donation.
Set to take effect on June 26, 2021, the new law applies only to...more
For many employers, the costs related to the COVID-19 vaccine just went down.
On April 21, 2021, President Biden announced that employers with fewer than 500 employees – including tax exempt organizations – can claim a...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 is an enormous and intricate piece of legislation that has direct consequence for employers.
Signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, ARPA mandates several important...more
3/16/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dependent Care ,
Employee Retention ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Hospitality Industry ,
IRS ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Paid Leave ,
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) ,
Pensions ,
Popular ,
Relief Measures ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Self-Funded Health Plans ,
Tax Credits ,
Unemployment Benefits