On March 6, 2021, the Senate passed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package known as the American Rescue Plan (ARP), including a $28.6 billion fund to assist restaurants. The relief package now heads back...more
3/9/2021
/ Bernie Sanders ,
Business Closures ,
Business Expenses ,
Business Interruption ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Grants ,
Joe Biden ,
Minority-Owned Businesses ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Veterans ,
Women-Owned Businesses
Philadelphia’s Wage Equity Ordinance, which was enacted in 2017, will finally start being enforced by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations (PCHR) on September 1, 2020. Following an unsuccessful judicial challenge,...more
Congress has breathed a third life into the Paycheck Protection Program – which appeared all but left for dead a scant week ago – and extended the availability of its potentially forgivable loans until August 8, 2020.
In...more
On June 17, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission weighed in on the question of whether an employer can mandate COVID-19 antibody tests for its employees.
The answer is “No.”
Antibody tests (also called...more
On June 3, 2020, the Senate unanimously approved H.R., 7010, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020, or Flex Act, modifying certain provisions of the CARES Act relating to loan forgiveness under the Paycheck...more
On May 22, 2020, a new interim final rule was posted by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that provides advice to borrowers and lenders concerning SBA’s review process under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The...more
Philadelphia was the first city to pass a law to ban employers from asking about the wage history of job applicants in 2018. Now that a federal court’s injunction has been lifted, the law is in effect.
With a stated goal...more
Philadelphia’s Domestic Worker Bill of Rights Law (DWL) took effect on May 1, 2020. Employers of domestic workers are required to notify their employees of their rights, maintain records to show compliance and provide a...more
A new Pennsylvania law (Act 9 of 2020) requires Pennsylvania employers to provide notice to employees about unemployment compensation benefits at the time of separation from employment or when an employee’s work hours are...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) posted a webinar on Friday, March 27, 2020 that answers employer queries on the ability to provide a safe workplace while remaining compliant with the Americans with...more
The obligation to provide paid sick leave and paid family leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) commences on April 1, 2020 — 14 days after the March 18 enactment. The choice of April 1 nullified the...more
On March 27, 2020, Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security in its effort to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act provides various forms of economic assistance to employers to address the...more
3/30/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Business Interruption ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Loans ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Small Business ,
Tax Relief ,
Unemployment Insurance
New federal and state laws were enacted on March 18 that will require New York employers to provide paid sick leave to employees affected by COVID-19. Outlined below are key paid sick leave provisions affecting employers of...more
3/23/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EFMLA ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
EPSLA ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Quarantine ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Employees ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tax Credits ,
Unemployment Insurance
Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act on March 18, 2020. Most portions of the new law that impact employers will become effective on April 2.
The new law responds to the pandemic by providing free...more
Anticipating layoffs, reductions in hours and absences resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance to states on March 12 addressing the eligibility of affected workers to...more
The City of Philadelphia’s effort to ban employers from asking about the wage history of job applicants is one step closer to reality now that a federal appeals court has rejected a First Amendment challenge to the...more
Originally set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2020, the City of Philadelphia's Fair Workweek Law implementation has been postponed from Jan. 1, 2020 until April 1, 2020.
In previous alerts, we outlined the Ordinance’s key...more
Set to take effect on January 1, 2020, the City of Philadelphia's Fair Workweek Employment Standards ordinance is expected to impose significant new burdens on certain restaurant and retail employers in light of extensive...more
The legislative flavor of the month is the movement to outlaw cashless stores. While retailers continue to pursue the holy grail of eliminating the check-out experience altogether with cashier-free stores, states and...more
Delaware has joined the growing list of states that require employers to take action designed to prevent harassment in the workplace. The new law provides additional protections to employees, mandates notice requirements and...more
In an era of governance by tweet, Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Josh Shapiro is touting the creation of a “Fair Labor Section” to prosecute employers. His tweet coincided with last week’s 80th anniversary of the Fair Labor...more
On the last day of its term, by a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court held that compelling nonmember agency fees for public sector employees is impermissible because it violates the First Amendment. The landmark decision in...more
6/28/2018
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Fair Share Contribution ,
First Amendment ,
Janus v AFSCME ,
Non-Union ,
Payroll Deductions ,
Public Sector Unions ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Stare Decisis ,
Union Dues
Human resource managers nationwide are celebrating the suspension of the looming pay data reporting requirements.
On August 29, 2017, the Office of Management and Budget informed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...more
As Labor Day approaches and the Trump administration enters its eighth month, it’s time to evaluate the president’s impact on the world of labor and employment law. Perhaps more than any of his predecessors, President Trump...more
Mayor Jim Kenny signed legislation on June 22, 2017 that authorizes the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations to order an employer to cease operations in the City of Philadelphia “for a specified period of time” if the...more