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Lately there has been an uptick in litigation surrounding website compliance under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). These cases are coming to light in part because blind plaintiffs are suing website owners for better access to their online marketplaces. People with sight disabilities have special tools that can read underlying code from websites out loud… Read On
Railroad workers who successfully sued their employers for lost wages under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) used to be able to retain the full amount of those recoveries assigned for lost wages without paying taxes under the Railroad Retirement Tax Act (RRTA). After a recent United States Supreme Court opinion, however, railroad workers may be seeing smaller settlements or decreased lost wages awards under the FELA… Read On
For younger generations, it is probably not surprising that employers may have access to any internet records generated on a work computer. For others, this may seem like a huge invasion of privacy. Regardless, in February 2019, the Third Circuit Court ruled that employers are permitted to monitor their past employees’ current activity on their previous work computers after the employees have departed from the employer… Read On
The Cambria County Court of Common Pleas has affirmed in part and reversed in part a final determination by the County’s Assistant District Attorney, which partially denied a Right-to-Know Law (RTKL) request for records showing the utilization of drug forfeiture funds. The President Judge, Norman A. Krumenacker, III, held that the District Attorney is obligated to disclose certain financial records related to the drug forfeiture account… Read On
An increasing number of individuals are relying on more than one job to handle the economic realities of making ends meet for their households. Recently, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals considered the legal implications of employees working “side gigs” and found that, for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), some workers, although labeled as independent contractors… Read On
Late last year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a decision imposing a new duty on employers to protect employees’ personal information. The ruling permitted employees of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) to maintain a lawsuit to hold UPMC liable for a data breach. From an employer’s perspective, the most significant impact of the case is the limitation of the economic loss doctrine… Read On
On January 30, 2019, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf reiterated his goal for an increased state minimum wage, putting pressure on the state legislature to raise low income workers’ salaries to $15 per hour. Twenty states across the country chose to increase their minimum wages last year with changes set to take effect at the beginning of 2019… Read On
In 2015, the City of Pittsburgh passed an ordinance, which was supposed to take effect on January 1, 2016, requiring all employers to begin offering paid sick leave to their employees. Pennsylvania does not currently have a state-wide law governing paid sick leave which is why some municipalities have decided to create their own. By enacting its ordinance… Read On
The increase in the sophistication and use of drones being operated by local governments and private individuals has raised issues regarding public safety and individual privacy. In October 2018, Governor Tom Wolf signed Act 78 (“Act”) limiting unmanned aircraft, more popularly known as drones, within Pennsylvania. The Act was directed to protect individuals’ privacy since the increased popularity of drones has decreased the amount of seclusion in homeowners’ backyards… Read On
Converting a Traditional IRA[1] to a Roth IRA merely recharacterizes the nature of the IRA with some added benefits and potential drawbacks. With current income tax rates relatively low, now may be a good time to make the conversion, but there are a few items to consider before doing so. Traditional IRAs are tax deductible on the front end of contributions… Read On
It is almost tax time and individuals are trying to get their records in order to either file on their own or to give to tax preparers to calculate what they may owe to Uncle Sam. Increasingly important is how individuals should handle cryptocurrency and its taxation. The IRS is becoming gradually more aware of this electronic blockchain-based virtual form of value and with that awareness comes the expectation that individuals will comply with the applicable tax laws surrounding cryptocurrency… Read On
The close of 2018 saw the end of the first decade of the “new” Right-to Know Law (“RTKL”) which went into effect January 1, 2009. Just as in 2017, the number of appellate cases continued to slow somewhat, however, the trial and appellate courts addressing the RTKL are now having to deal with much more nuanced procedural and substantive issues… Read On
