By Michael G. Dryden, Esq. Willig, Williams & Davidson has successfully established a widow’s right to fatal benefits following her husband’s suicide after a work injury. This significant legal victory could pave the way for dependents in Pennsylvania to more easily seek benefits following a ...
Philadelphia Enacts Public Health Emergency Leave
On March 29, 2021, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney signed into law an important piece of legislation that requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide a form of paid sick leave to their employees for reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This leave is available to qualified employees ...
Here’s How the American Rescue Plan Delivers for Pennsylvania
While the deadly COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis that it spurred continue to test families across the country, help already is on the way. On March 11, 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan, the most sweeping and progressive economic package that Congress has ...
American Rescue Plan Extends Unemployment Insurance Benefits
By Irwin Aronson and Amy Rosenberger More than a year into the pandemic, chronic unemployment and under-employment remain among its most challenging impacts on individuals’ lives and our economy. The adoption and signing into law of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) significantly extends and ...
ARPA: Subsidized COBRA Coverage and Extensions of ERISA Deadlines
By Susan Bahme Blumenfeld Under the recently enacted American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, some individuals who have lost their jobs or have had their work hours reduced will be eligible for a 100% subsidy for COBRA coverage for the period from April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021. Pursuant to ...
American Rescue Plan Offers New Life to Multiemployer Defined Benefit Pension Plans Facing Insolvency
By Jim Beall For years, experts and legislators have debated what to do about several large multiemployer defined benefit pension plans facing insolvency because of investment losses during the Great Recession and the decline of contribution bases over decades of industry changes. Finally, ...
PPP Loans Now Open to Certain Labor Organizations
Tax code section 501(c)(5) labor organizations now can apply for Paycheck Protection Program loans, but they need to act quickly before funding and time run out. By Jim Beall For the first time, Tax Code Section 501(c)(5) labor organizations can apply for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ...
What Does the ‘No Surprises Act’ Mean for Patients?
By Wendy F. Pongracz, Jim Beall, Susan Bahme Blumenfeld, and Kelly Ann Brogan On December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) was signed into law. The CCA includes the No Surprises Act (the “Act”), which provides, among other things, protections for patients and their ...
Interim NLRB General Counsel Moves Quickly to Re-Focus Agency on Workers’ Rights
By Joseph D. Richardson The brief time since President Joe Biden’s inauguration has seen dramatic changes at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and other federal labor regulators, signaling the new administration’s commitment to ending the war on workers of the last four years. The ...
Biden’s Pro-Worker Agenda in Action
By Ryan Allen Hancock Within one week of taking office, President Joe Biden’s administration has taken sweeping action that centers on and benefits working people. Specifically, the Biden administration has taken direct action with regard to wages, worker protections, and union organizing. In ...