As we welcome in a new year, employers all over the country brace for a new wave of changes to current labor and employment laws.
Regardless of where you operate, the updates in the law will reshape workplace compliance, employee rights, and business operations. A big picture review of changes occurring across the country indicates a growing emphasis on fairness and adaptability. In Pennsylvania, recent updates to state and local laws reflect an expansion of employee protections and rights.
Effective January 1, 2026, the City of Pittsburgh has made certain amendments to its Paid Sick Days Act. The amendments require employers with 15 or more employees to provide at least 72 hours of paid sick leave per year, which is an increase from the previous 40 hours. Employers with fewer than 15 employees must provide 48 hours of paid sick leave, which is an increase from the previous 24 hours. Lastly, all employers must allow employees to accrue a minimum of 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
Effective January 6, 2026, the City of Philadelphia amended its Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards Law to limit the information employers may consider when hiring new workers. Keeping with Philadelphia’s trend of “ban the box” protections, this amendment reduces the lookback period for certain convictions and prohibits the consideration of offenses that do not rise to the level of felony or misdemeanor. The new law also implements specific notice requirements and requires employers to allow employees to submit documents in response to the results of a background check.
Effective January 24, 2026, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act will now prohibit discrimination based on hairstyles and head coverings under the new CROWN Act. This law expands the definition of “race” and “religious creed” to include traits historically associated with race and ethnicity, including hair texture and hairstyles, and head coverings and hairstyles historically associated with religious creed.
This post was written by Anna Truckley and Neva Stotler.
