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The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently held that a contractual no-hire or “no poach” provision in a services contract between sophisticated business entities is not enforceable under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This important case is entitled Pittsburgh Systems, Inc. v. Beemac Trucking, et. al., case no. 31 WAP 2019.
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Continue Reading Pennsylvania Supreme Court Bars “No-Hire” Clauses Between Businesses

The current pandemic has significantly altered how people work, shop, and communicate with each other. The majority of people who have been fortunate enough to keep their jobs are working from home, and doing most of their shopping teleconferencing and/or videoconferencing from their house or apartment. This creates security concerns for us, both personally and professionally.
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Continue Reading Cybersecurity Concerns during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Employers, and likely all businesses, now have a specific duty to safeguard their employees’ personal data that is stored on internet-based computer systems, according to a recent decision by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Prior legislation only required companies to report potential or actual data breaches to the individuals or businesses whose information may have been, or was, compromised.
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Continue Reading Pennsylvania Companies Must Protect Employees’ Sensitive Data

Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act was enacted in May 2016 (the “Act”). Under the Act, patients with serious medical conditions, such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and severe chronic or intractable pain, are authorized to use medical marijuana to treat their condition after obtaining a certification from a physician and an identification card issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Medical marijuana may only be issued to an individual or an individual’s caregiver who has received the certification and identification card. Medical marijuana may not be smoked and may only be dispensed in certain enumerated forms.
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Continue Reading What Does PA’s Medical Marijuana Act Mean for My Company?

An individual who is out of work in Pennsylvania may qualify for unemployment compensation benefits through the state government. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry Office of Unemployment Compensation Benefits is responsible for processing benefit requests and determining whether you are eligible to receive benefits.
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Continue Reading Out-of-Work Employees Can Seek Unemployment Compensation Benefits in Pennsylvania

If you were previously convicted of a crime and served your time, this will show up on your criminal record. Most employers require each job applicant undergo a criminal record check, which can mean the difference between securing a new job and losing the position to a competitor. One way to prevent this issue is to have the conviction removed from your criminal record through a process called expungement. While the law in Pennsylvania makes it difficult for individuals to have a past crime removed from their record, in some cases, it is possible.

Currently, Pennsylvania permits the expungement of misdemeanors or felonies where:

  1. The individual is 70 years of age and has been free of arrest or prosecution for 10 years following their final release from confinement or supervision; or
  2. The individual has been dead for 3 years; or
  3. The individual was convicted of a summary offense and has been free of arrest or prosecution for 5 years following the conviction.

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Continue Reading Expungements in Pennsylvania

Immigrants who receive provisional legal status under President Obama’s new executive orders may be eligible for Social Security and Medicare or Medicaid benefits.  Under the President’s plan, U.S. residents can apply for provisional legal status if they have  lived in the U.S. for at least 5 years, can pass a criminal background check and have…

Many individuals take an early retirement, at age 62, the youngest age at which you can currently receive your Social Security retirement benefit, thinking that they can get a better return on their money by investing the amount they receive from Social Security.  Most retirement experts do not advise this course of action.  First of…