What are the labor and employment laws in Pennsylvania?

Summary Pennsylvania law prohibits an employer from discriminating and retaliating against employees in a variety of protected categories. Pennsylvania permits preemployment criminal checks. In Pennsylvania, there are requirements relating to the minimum wage, overtime and child labor.

How many employees do you have to have to be an employer in PA?

Employers with at least 15 employees are subject to these laws (for age discrimination, employers with at least 20 employees must comply with the law). Employers may not discriminate in any part of the employment relationship, from job posts and application forms to hiring, promotions, pay and benefits, leave, discipline, layoffs, and firing.

What kind of laws do you have to follow in PA?

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Pennsylvania law set the wage and hour standards employers must follow, including the minimum wage, overtime, and other wage protections. Employers must pay the highest minimum wage applicable to employees, whether set by federal, state, or local law.

Do you have to work every day in PA?

Labor law exists, in part, to ensure employees get time off from work. No one is required to work every day to keep their jobs. Although neither federal law nor Pennsylvania law require employees to get paid for their time off, they are still entitled to unpaid leave. Family and medical leave is a right of all employees protected by law.

What are the labor laws in Pennsylvania?

Meals and Breaks. Pennsylvania labor laws require employers to provide a thirty (30) minute break period to employees ages fourteen (14) through seventeen (17) who work five (5) or more consecutive hours. Pennsylvania Code 43-40.3(a) Employers are not required to provide breaks to employees eighteen (18) and over. PA Dept.

What are my employment rights in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania employee rights include the right not to be discriminated against or harassed at work for your sex, race, religion, national origin, disability, or age if you are over forty. Discrimination against pregnant women is considered sex discrimination according to PA employee rights.

What are the overtime laws in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania Overtime Regulations. Under Pennsylvania labor laws and overtime rules in PA, overtime pay of at least 1 ½ times the employee’s regular wage rate must be paid for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

What are the work laws in PA?

Pennsylvania employment laws also provide certain protections to employees in terms of an employees’ wages and benefits. The Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act requires that employers pay employees overtime pay when an employee works more than 40 hours per week.

Do you have to pay an employee not to work in PA?

There is no Pennsylvania labor law which requires an employer to pay an employee not to work. Benefits like sick leave, vacation pay and severance pay are payments to an employee not to be at work. Therefore, an employer only has to pay these benefits if the employer has a policy to pay such benefits or a contract with you to pay these benefits.

What is the personnel files act in PA?

Pennsylvania’s Personnel Files Act allows employees the right to inspect certain portions of their employment records for these and other purposes. The Act is codified at 43 P.S. §1321 et seq..

When is an employer liable for a wrongful discharge in Pennsylvania?

In Pennsylvania, employers also can be found liable for a “wrongful discharge” if the firing violates public policy. Under the public policy exception to the doctrine that employment is at will, the courts have held that an employer cannot require an employee to commit a crime,…

Can a employer fire an employee in Pennsylvania?

Employment Termination in Pennsylvania. Both federal and state anti-discrimination laws protect an employee from being fired because of a discriminatory reason. An employer who fires an employee because of the employee’s race, ethnic background, religion, age, sex, or disability can be ordered to pay the employee back pay and damages.

What does it mean to terminate employment in Pennsylvania?

Most Pennsylvania employment relationships in the private sector are considered legally to be ” at-will ” relationships. This means that at the will of either the employee or the employer (with no justification necessary) the relationship can be ended.

What do employers need to know about Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania employers are required to provide employees with a written record of certain pay-related information, including: 1 Beginning and ending dates of the pay period; 2 Hours worked; 3 Rates paid; 4 Gross wages; 5 Allowances claimed as part of the minimum wage; 6 Deductions; and 7 Net wages.

When to preserve a PA workers comp return date?

For a form returned for the first time, the Bureau will preserve the filing date if the submitting party files a corrected version of the form within 14 days of the written notice of the return of the form. (c) The filing date is the date indicated on the United States Postal Service postmark or postal receipt.

What is the unemployment compensation law in Pennsylvania?

The Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation (UC) Law provides for “the systematic setting aside of financial reserves to be used as compensation for loss of wages by employees during periods when they become unemployed through no fault of their own.”

How many companies have more than 100 employees in PA?

Here at Zippia we have developed a database of over 250,000 companies that spans the entire country. For this report, we looked at the companies headquartered in Pennsylvania with at least 100 employees. That left us with 1,677 companies.

Who is responsible for unemployment compensation in Pennsylvania?

Reimbursable Employers. If employment is covered under the Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Law (Law), employers are responsible for UC coverage of their employees. However, political subdivisions and certain nonprofit employers have a choice of two methods of financing this coverage.

How old do you have to be to be an employee in PA?

According to federal law, you also cannot be discriminated against based on your age if you are over 40 years old, or for any disability or genetic issues. As an employee in the state of Pennsylvania, you are protected by federal law and state law, which in Pennsylvania adds a couple additional protections when it comes to discrimination.

What’s the law on tipping employees in PA?

You can find out more about Pennsylvania minimum wage, tip rules, overtime standards, and other wage and hour issues at the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. The basic rule of tips, under federal law and state law, is that they belong to the employee, not the employer.

Can a employer terminate an employee in Pennsylvania?

An important concept to digest as an employee in the state of Pennsylvania is at-will employment. In this state, and several others like it, an employer is free to terminate an employee at their own discretion (at will) for any or no reason at all.

Is it mandatory to have workers’compensation in PA?

Workers’ compensation coverage is mandatory for most employers under Pennsylvania law. Employers who do not have workers’ compensation coverage may be subject to lawsuits by employees and to criminal prosecution by the commonwealth.

How old do you have to be to work in PA?