By Thomas R. Smith, Jr. In-vitro fertilization (IVF) and other assisted reproductive technologies are a blessing to couples struggling to conceive or unable to conceive children naturally. Many couples in Pennsylvania have had the opportunity to experience the joys of parenthood through these ...
Department of Health and Human Services Proposes Federal Minimum Staffing Standards for Nursing Homes
By Jordan Konell On Friday, September 6, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a proposed rule, seeking to establish minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes in the United States. The proposal builds on a breadth of initiatives that the Biden ...
Supervised Custody Pilot Program Begins in Philadelphia
By Elizabeth Deegan In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, family courts have the ability to enter a court order mandating that a person’s custody time with their children be supervised. In Pennsylvania, that would be called supervised physical custody and in New Jersey, supervised parenting time. A ...
New Rule Restores Faster, Simpler Election Procedures at NLRB
By Michelle “Micky” Devitt Workers and unions petitioning the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a union election soon will have a faster and smoother road to those elections. In August, the NLRB adopted a Final Rule to streamline election procedures and shorten timelines so workers can ...
NLRB Restores Modified Path to Union Representation Without Election
By: Michelle "Micky" Devitt The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on August 25 issued a decision announcing a stronger framework for establishing an employer’s duty to bargain with a union that has gained the support of a majority of employees. This new framework also deters common but ...
NLRB to Employers: Work Rules Must Be “Narrowly Tailored” to Avoid Interference with Protected Activity
By: Joseph D. Richardson On August 2, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a much-anticipated decision addressing the lawfulness of employer work rules that could be read as prohibiting or interfering with employees’ rights to work together to advance their interests in the ...
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Goes into Effect: What It Means for Pregnant and Post-Partum Employees
By Lauren Hoye and Jesse Bernstein On Tuesday, June 27, 2023, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) went into effect, just about seven months after President Biden signed it into law as part of the government funding bill. The PWFA provides that government employers and private employers with ...
Glacier Northwest v. Teamsters: The Supreme Court Examines State Tort Claims in the Context of a Private Sector Labor Dispute
By: Joseph D. Richardson and Joe Peters In what is broadly being understood as a blow to unions and a victory for employers, on June 1, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States held that an employer could sue a union in state court over alleged destruction of employer property incurred as a ...
Implications to Employee Benefits Plans For the End of the COVID-19 National Emergency and Public Health Emergency
by Susan Bahme Blumenfeld and Joseph SalamonPresident Trump declared the COVID-19 National Emergency (“NE”) on March 13, 2020, retroactively effective March 1, 2020. Similarly, the U.S. Department Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued a COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (“PHE”), initially ...
FTC Proposes Ban on Non-Compete Agreements
By Ryan A. Hancock, Esquire On Jan. 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking indicating that it seeks to ban employers from imposing or enforcing non-compete agreements on their workers. The proposed rule would apply to all workers, including independent ...