Legal Focus

As a number of regions across the country begin to experience a surge in coronavirus cases due to new variants, employers and local, state, and federal governments have begun to mandate vaccines in some capacity. Recently, the Biden Administration announced that they have directed the Occupational Health and Safety Administration to create a new rule which requires private employers with at least 100 employees to ensure that their employees are vaccinated or receive weekly Covid-19 testing. Addi...

The implementation of paid sick leave laws by states, cities, and counties is a fast growing trend across the country, and many employers who operate in areas that adopt these laws may potentially be affected. This article discusses what paid sick leave laws are and highlights certain laws that have been introduced and/or passed in Pennsylvania.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) requires many employers with more than ten (10) employees to maintain injury and illness records if the injuries and illnesses are work-related. In April 2020, OSHA issued guidance that established COVID-19 as a recordable illness and stated that employers may be required to record cases of COVID-19. However, because COVID-19 can be easily transmitted, and considering the fact that a sick employee may be unaware he or she contracted CO...

As we are quickly approaching the one-year anniversary of the introduction of Covid-19 in the United States in February 2020, federal regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continue to work closely with pharmaceutical companies who are in the process of developing a vaccine to assist with the development and implementation. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been approved by the FDA and are currently in the ea...

Initiatives decided on November 3, 2020 by Arizona, New Jersey, Montana, South Dakota and Mississippi broadened state marijuana laws. There are now has 36 states and 4 territories with state laws permitting the medicinal and/or recreational use of marijuana. While federal law still prohibits marijuana and would normally control employment actions arising from marijuana, some recent federal courts have allowed state employment discrimination cases arising from drug test related employment termina...

Now that the Payroll Protection Plan loans have started funding – the questions re: how to qualify for forgiveness and how to coordinate these funds with other benefits are on everyone’s mind. School bus contractors have their own unique difficulties in this area, especially in coordination with their contracts and the school year calendar. Just like the application process, the tax issues are as clear as mud in many regards. Some questions can be answered, but some just cannot, so far. So, Ri...

Despite the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) continued position that “the school bus is the safest vehicle on the road”, in 2019 the school bus industry has been the focus of increased attention from lawmakers and regulators. Following is a brief discussion of the evolving state and federal laws from the past year that matter most to Pennsylvania’s school bus contractors.