Photo of John A. DiNome

On December 15, 2015, Philadelphia’s former Mayor, Michael Nutter, signed off on an amendment (“the Amendment”) to the Fair Criminal Record Screenings Standards Ordinance (“the Ordinance”). The Amendment, which tightens the already-stringent regulations on Philadelphia employers, becomes effective this Wednesday, March 16, 2016. The Amendment does not affect employers’ right to engage in any inquiries or adverse actions that are specifically authorized or mandated by any other applicable law or regulation.

The Expansion of the Ordinance

The Amendment, which takes the city’s stance on “banning the box” one step farther, prohibits employers from inquiring into an applicant’s criminal conviction history until after a conditional offer of employment has been made. Moreover, the Amendment expands the Ordinance’s reach, banning questions regarding an applicant’s willingness to eventually submit to a background check and emphasizing that any prohibited application inquiries are unlawful, even if placed alongside a disclaimer that certain applicants need not answer the question.

Even more onerously, the Amendment places new regulations on employers’ internal hiring policies and practices. It is now unlawful for an employer to maintain or adopt any policy automatically excluding an applicant with a criminal conviction from a class of jobs. Employers may only reject prospective employees based on a criminal record if the record includes a conviction that “bears such relationship to the employment sought that the employer may reasonably conclude that the applicant would present an unacceptable risk to the operation of the business or to co-workers or customers, and that exclusion of the applicant is compelled by business necessity.”
Continue Reading City of Philadelphia Amendments to Ban-The-Box Legislation Take Effect This Week

In nearly every business, regardless of size, difficult employees are among management’s biggest headaches. Drawing on real-life examples from workplace counseling and litigation, this presentation will address practical steps for dealing with difficult employees. The program will cover:

  • Hiring process
  •  Performance evaluations
  •  Disciplinary policies and procedures (union and non-union)
  •  Laying the groundwork for success before

The Colorado Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision in Coats v. DISH Network, holding that the recreational use of marijuana is not a lawful activity under Colorado’s Lawful Activities Act (“Act”). The Act prohibits employers from terminating employees for off-hours lawful activities. The court applied the Act broadly, holding that the recreational use

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter recently signed the “Promoting Healthy Families and Workplaces” Ordinance, adding Philadelphia to the growing list of cities and states to require sick leave. The new law, which takes effect May 13, 2015, generally requires employers to provide workers with 40 hours of sick leave each year.

On Thursday, April 16 at

John DiNome, Joel Barras, and Hadley Perkins have posted a new article on Forbes.com.

Next week, residents of Oregon, Alaska, and Washington, D.C. will vote on initiatives to legalize the sale of recreational marijuana, reflecting a nationwide trend toward legalization. Given these and similar initiatives in other states, employers will face new challenges in managing

Effective January 1, 2012, a signature amendment to the Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Law will require that severance pay in excess of 40% of the average annual wage in Pennsylvania offset unemployment compensation benefits otherwise payable to separated employees.

Prior to Act 6 of 2011, the amount of unemployment compensation a qualified claimant would receive would

On November 30, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) voted 2-1 to advance certain proposed rules to expedite the current union election process and significantly limit employer participation in that process. The proposed rules will be drafted in final form for eventual publication in the Federal Register and re-voted by the Board. Uncertainty lingers,