News from 2014

Courts Have Duty to Investigate Agency Responses to Requests for Public Records

A trial court reviewing a final determination of the Office of Open Records (OOR) has a duty to investigate allegations that the agency did not respond to a Right-to-Know Law (RTKL) request in good faith.  Chambersburg Area School District v. Dorsey, No. 1358 C.D. 2013, (Pa. Cmwlth. Aug. 20, 2014).  Where an agency suddenly discovers and discloses responsive records two years after the initial public records request… Read On

Managing Partner Craig J. Staudenmaier Has Been Selected for Inclusion in the 21st Edition of The Best Lawyers in America

For the third consecutive year, Managing Partner Craig J. Staudenmaier has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the 21st Edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the practice area of Commercial Litigation. Craig concentrates his practice in the areas of state and federal litigation and Right-to-Know/media law. He routinely represents clients in all phases of the litigation process including mediation and arbitration… Read On

Marcellus Shale Update – The Major Issues Addressed by the Commonwealth Court on Remand of the Robinson Township Case

Following the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s landmark plurality decision that struck down several sections of Act 13 under the Environmental Rights Amendment, Robinson Township v. Commonwealth was remanded back to the Commonwealth Court. On remand, the court reconsidered four issues raised by Act 13: (1) whether requiring DEP to notify public, but not private drinking water systems of a fracking fluid spill was unconstitutional because it created a special law or violated equal protection… Read On

Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage Act is more Employee Friendly than its Federal Counterpart

The rate of overtime pay to which an employee is entitled can differ greatly under state and federal labor law when an employee is paid on a salaried basis. Just ask RadioShack, which recently lost a putative federal class action case involving over 100 salaried employees. Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage Act (PMWA), like its federal counterpart, requires overtime pay at not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for any hours worked over 40 by employees subject to the law… Read On

Unemployment Compensation and Impact of Severance and Retirement Benefits

As of June 2014, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 5.6%, the lowest rate since September 2008. This is great news, but regardless of the state of the economy, employers will always have to deal with employee turnover and associated Unemployment Compensation (“UC”) claims. The receipt of severance payments and/or retirement benefits can affect the amount of UC benefits an otherwise eligible employee is entitled to receive… Read On


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