Intro to Pennsylvania Labor Laws

Pittsburgh City Council unanimously passed and signed into law a new ordinance that will provide protections for medical marijuana patients in the workplace. Employers with 5 or more employees will be prevented from discriminating against medical marijuana patients by requiring pre-employment drug testing or drug testing during employment. This law includes exceptions for certain professions.  

Although this law protects certain groups, employers have the right to take disciplinary action against or drug test an employee perceived to be under the influence while working, prohibit marijuana use on company premises, drug test an employee following a workplace accident, and other actions outlined in the law. 

Employers should review hiring and employment policies and update them accordingly.

Pennsylvania recently passed the "Fair Contracting for Health Care Practitioners Act," which restricts non-compete agreements for healthcare practitioners, including physicians and nurse practitioners. The law aims to enhance patient access to care and retain healthcare talent by making most non-compete agreements void. Exceptions include agreements under one year for voluntarily departing practitioners and covenants related to business sales. Employers must notify patients of a practitioner’s departure within 90 days. This aligns Pennsylvania with a national trend limiting non-competes in healthcare.

Mayor Jim Kenney has signed the “Employee Commuter Transit Benefit Ordinance” into law. Under this new Ordinance, effective December 31, 2022, covered employers in Philadelphia must provide employees with a commuter transit benefit program, which will allow employees to use pre-tax income to cover their commuting costs. A covered employer is defined as an employer with 50 or more “covered employees” in Philadelphia. A “covered employee” is any employee working an average of 30 or more hours per week in Philadelphia for the same employer over the last 12 months. Employers with employees in Philadelphia will want to review their existing commuter benefits program for compliance with the Ordinance.

Lehigh County has implemented a new anti-discrimination ordinance requiring employers to avoid discrimination based on a broad range of protected characteristics, including race, gender identity, and veteran status among other groups. The ordinance, which will apply to all public and private sector employers with at least one employee in Lehigh County, will also include "ban-the-box" rules and a ban on salary history inquiries. Employees who wish to file a complaint against their employer alleging a violation of the ordinance may do so within 180 days. Employers should review and update their policies, ensure compliance, and train staff accordingly.

In December, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA) regulations were amended to include new and broadened definitions for race, gender, and religious creed. Among the several changes, the PHRA regulations now explicitly protect hairstyles associated with race and ethnicity, interracial marriage and association with interracial marriage, pregnancy and childbirth (and any related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, sex assigned at birth, and outlines a broader definition of religious observance. These expanded definitions should be updated in any harassment and anti-retaliation policies, practices, and training. This update will go into effect after a legislative review and the final regulations are posted in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

In a deviation from the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Pennsylvania has changed the way employers must calculate the regular rate for the purposes of overtime for salaried, non-exempt employees working in the state. Starting on August 5, employers must add up all remuneration paid to the employee in a week and divide the amount by 40 hours. Employers may not make this calculation based on the total number of hours worked. For Justworks customers, timecards will automatically divide the weekly salary for a salaried, non-exempt employee in Pennsylvania by 40 hours per week for the purposes of calculating overtime.