On October 3, 2020, Pennsylvania established a new overtime rule that will allow more workers to be eligible for overtime wages. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry’s Secretary, Jerry Oleksiak, stated in a press release that “the modernized regulation will expand eligibility for overtime to 143,000 people and…
Quad Graphics, a company with facilities all over the world, will be closing its Humboldt Industrial Park location on June 1, 2018. The closing of the Hazleton area plant will lead to around 165 people being out of work. Employees were made aware of the closing at a meeting on…
Employees of Advanced Oilfield Services L.L.C., Bimbo Bakeries USA Inc., and Wizzard Drain Cleaning L.L.C. have claimed that the companies failed to pay for overtime wages for workers. Employers failing to pay proper wages for hours worked is common. In 2015, nearly 9,000 claims were brought against employers for wage…
As many Pennsylvanians still struggle to find employment, Rep. Ed Neilson of the 169th Legislative District of Philadelphia County is hoping to protect their rights by introducing legislation that will provide more information to temporary workers who find jobs through employment agencies. In December, Rep. Neilson sent a letter to…
This week, J.C. Penney announced it was cutting 2,000 jobs and closing 33 stores, including one in Hazleton in the Laural Mall. A total of 3 stores will be closed here in Pennsylvania, including a store in Exton and another in Washington, PA. According to an article on CNN.com, the…
We read an article in the Pennsylvania Record (pennrecord.com) last week about a Chester County woman who is suing her ex-employer for wrongful termination after she believes that she was fired following a slip and fall incident where she injured her foot leaving work. The woman was leaving her work…
On Jan. 1, the Unemployment Compensation Solvency legislation (Act 60) went into effect in Pennsylvania, limiting unemployment compensation benefits for seasonal workers. This means that workers who made 50.5 percent of their annual income or more in one quarter are no longer eligible for benefits. Previously, the limit was 63…
In last week’s State of the Union address, President Obama said that he wanted to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour in an effort to help working Americans out of poverty. An article on CNNMoney.com explains that this increase would make a full-time job that pays $9 an…
In late summer 2011, we blogged about an incident at a Hershey Co. distribution center in Palmyra, when a large group of foreign exchange students walked off their jobs for being overworked and underpaid. Over a year later, their protest paid off: in later 2012, federal officials said $213,000 in…
Slower than expected coal sales are to blame for a temporary layoff of workers at Blaschak Coal Corporation. According to an article on the RepublicanHerald.com, the layoff affects workers at the company’s three mining operations in Centralia, Primrose, and Lattimer. Blaschak’s president and chief executive officer is quoted in the…