As tragedy takes its toll at one school after another, we’ve been getting questions from education leaders about guns at school. This article summarizes the current law as it relates to an individual’s right to possess weapons, including firearms, on school property. While a district may prohibit a person from carrying a firearm on school property, this authority is not unlimited, and an … [Read more...] about A Balancing Act of Rights and Safety: Pennsylvania Law Regarding Guns in Schools
In Its First Application of Fry, Third Circuit Takes Broad View on Exhaustion
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals, in the case of Wellman v. Butler Area School District, No. 15-3394 (Dec. 12, 2017), applied for one of the first times the Supreme Court’s decision in Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools to find that a student’s Section 504 claims required exhaustion through administrative due process prior to filing claims in federal court. However, in so doing the Third Circuit … [Read more...] about In Its First Application of Fry, Third Circuit Takes Broad View on Exhaustion
Employers and Employees Beware: Pennsylvania Slated To Revise Its Overtime Laws
Governor Wolf has announced that Pennsylvania will be revising its overtime laws. A major change will be to raise the minimum salary that an employee must earn in order to be exempt from earning overtime. Pennsylvania law currently requires a salary of not less than $23,660.00 in order to exempt the employee from overtime laws. Under the proposal set forth by Governor Wolf, the minimum salary … [Read more...] about Employers and Employees Beware: Pennsylvania Slated To Revise Its Overtime Laws
The Supreme Court Intreprets the Statute of Limitations in Dual Filing Employment Discrimination Claims
In a major clarification of procedural law, the U.S. Supreme Court recently answered the question of whether or not, in a dual federal-state filing, federal law suspends the state statute of limitations at the time if filing the federal filing later proves unsuccessful. It is typical in employment discrimination cases for the claimant to have a dual filing to protect their rights under both … [Read more...] about The Supreme Court Intreprets the Statute of Limitations in Dual Filing Employment Discrimination Claims
Responding to Student Medical Marijuana Use Just Got a Whole Lot More Complicated
Several recent developments in the area of medical marijuana have made things a lot more complicated for schools responding to requests from students to use it at school. Under Pennsylvania law, individuals may use certain forms of marijuana if they meet certain qualifications, including having certain disabilities, and this can and does include school age students. To date, the law is silent on … [Read more...] about Responding to Student Medical Marijuana Use Just Got a Whole Lot More Complicated
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished When It Comes to Collective Bargaining Agreements – Good Intentions May Create a Binding Past Practice
In an interesting case that should be cautionary reminder for all employers who have a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the Commonwealth Court found that an employer was bound by a past practice of permitting employees to have Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve off, despite any language in the CBA that provided for the same. In Lackawanna County v. Lackawanna Count Adult and Juvenile Probation … [Read more...] about No Good Deed Goes Unpunished When It Comes to Collective Bargaining Agreements – Good Intentions May Create a Binding Past Practice
