One of the first pieces of legislation signed into law by Governor Murphy of New Jersey in 2018 is a law requiring employers to provide both full-time and part-time employees 40 hours of paid sick leave each benefit year. The New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act (Act), which went into effect ...
Preparing for Post-Janus Litigation: An Insurance Perspective
Since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Janus v. AFSCME back in June, plaintiffs backed by right-wing anti-union groups have been engaged in a full-fledged assault on public sector labor unions. As part of that assault, many unions have received correspondence from bargaining ...
OSHA Proposes Cutbacks on Mandatory Reporting of Workplace Injuries
On July 30, 2018, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking to ease Obama-era reporting requirements of workplace injuries and illnesses. Under the new proposal, many employers will no longer be required to annually submit ...
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Decision Supports Governor Wolf’s Executive Order on Home Care
In 2015, Governor Wolf issued an executive order concerning home care services in Pennsylvania. Among other things, this executive order permitted direct care workers who provide home care services to seniors and persons with disabilities to elect a representative organization for the purpose of ...
Expungement of a Protection from Abuse (PFA) Record
The Pennsylvania Protection from Abuse Act provides a remedy for a victim of abuse to seek protection from their abuser. A protection from abuse petition and temporary order prohibiting abuse can be obtained if there is a familial or household relationship between the victim and abuser or if they ...
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Use of Class Action Waivers in Employee Arbitration Agreements
A few weeks ago, the United States Supreme Court issued a sweeping decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, in three consolidated cases including one arising under the National Labor Relations Act, that will make it difficult, if not impossible, for employees to gain access to a court of ...
‘What Did You Make at Your Last Job?’- Ninth Circuit Holds Prior Salary is No Justification for Current Pay Gap
It is well known that women often earn less than men for doing the same work. Per a Pew Research Center analysis, women in the United States earned about 82% of what men earned in 2017. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently addressed this “pay gap” in considering ...
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Strikes Down Common Employer Bargaining Tactic as Unlawful Under the Pension Protection Act
On April 26, 2018, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated an employer’s attempt to freeze participation in a multiemployer pension plan to existing employees, and place new employees in a 401(k) plan. This is a common employer demand in bargaining, but it was held unlawful because of ...
What is Pregnancy Discrimination?
In 1978, Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (“PDA”) as an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The PDA prohibits employers from discriminating against employees or applicants for employment on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition ...
No Notice of Compensation Payable, No Protection Under Workers’ Compensation
If you get injured at work, your injury is not legally covered under workers’ compensation unless you receive a Notice of Compensation Payable. Injured workers are required to report an injury to their employer within 120 days after the injury. It is best to report the injury as soon as a worker ...