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Lower 2026 Ratio New Opportunities for Reducing Your Property Tax Assessment

In Allegheny County, the tax appeal season will begin shortly for 2026. For every tax year, County property owners can file an assessment appeal. But allegedly, to continue providing certainty to taxpayers and taxing bodies...more

District Court Allows First Amendment and Due Process Claims to Proceed in Flynn v. Big Spring School District

Flynn v. Big Spring Sch. Dist., No. 1:22-CV-00961, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168913, at *2 (M.D. Pa. Sep. 19, 2024) (District Court permits Plaintiffs who were regular attendants at school board meetings to move forward with...more

New City of Pittsburgh Ordinance Prohibits Drug Testing for Some Prospective and Current Employees Certified to Use Medical...

Medical marijuana is currently legal in 37 states—including Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania legalized the use of medical marijuana in 2016 when it adopted the Medical Marijuana Act (“the Act”), which legalized...more

Allegheny County Moves Tax Appeal Deadline to October 1 - Limited Time for Assessment Relief

In Allegheny County, tax appeal season has already begun for 2025. For every tax year, County property owners have the ability to file an assessment appeal. ...more

Four Common Mistakes Employers Should Avoid During Internal Workplace Investigations

A common issue that employers, regardless of size or industry, face is responding to employee complaints. If, for example, an employee reports that they are being sexually harassed at work or that another employee is...more

Updated Process for Enforcement of Pennsylvania’s School Bus Stop-Arm Camera Program

Pennsylvania law requires motorists coming from any direction to stop at least ten (10) feet from a school bus with its lights flashing and stop-arm sign extended. Unfortunately, data suggests that many motorists fail to...more

Lower 2024 Ratio - New Opportunities for Reducing Your Property Tax Assessment

In Allegheny County, tax appeal season has begun for 2024. Every year, County property owners have the ability to file an assessment appeal. But this year there are unique opportunities for an assessment reduction....more

School District and Principal Not Liable for Gym Teacher’s Inappropriate Photos of Student

Shaefer v. Chorba, No. 3:23-0019, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170844, at *5 (M.D. Pa. Sep. 25, 2023). A Pennsylvania federal court dismissed a former student’s § 1983 claim against a school district and principal arising from a...more

Employee’s Unexcused Absence Due to Illness Held Not to be Willful Misconduct Despite Prior Pattern of Absenteeism

O’Leary v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, No. 775 C.D. 2022 (Pa. Cmwlth. Ct. Aug. 7, 2023). The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania reversed the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review’s decision denying employee...more

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: What Employers Need to Know

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”) is a new federal law that went into effect on June 27, 2023, requiring covered employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified employees and applicants with known...more

The Largely Unregulated Realm of Microblading in Pennsylvania: What Do Business Owners Need to Know?

A new beauty trend known as “microblading” is becoming increasingly popular in all states, including Pennsylvania. Microblading is a form of semi-permanent makeup that involves tattooing eyebrow hairs to obtain desired...more

Trickledown of Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act: Relying on Reasonable Suspicion Programs In Place of Routine Marijuana...

Last issue, we discussed whether it still makes sense for local employers to routinely test employees and applicants for marijuana considering Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act, changing social/political landscapes, and...more

Federal Court Grants Preliminary Injunction for Title IX Claim, Precluding School District from Preventing Female Students from...

Brooks v. State Coll. Area Sch. Dist., No. 4:22-CV-01335, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 217173, at *2 (M.D. Pa. Dec. 1, 2022). The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania granted the Plaintiffs’ Motion...more

Does it Still Make Sense for Pennsylvania Employers to Drug Test?

Legalization/decriminalization, the lack of specificity in drug testing technology, and the great resignation have changed the landscape surrounding workplace drug testing - Drug testing in the workplace became prevalent...more

Pennsylvania School Districts Required to Adopt Resolutions by January 7, 2023, Pursuant to Act 57 of 2022

Act 57 of 2022 amends the Pennsylvania Local Tax Collection Law and requires School District Tax Collectors to waive additional charges for taxpayers who did not receive notice of real estate taxes when a property or mobile...more

School District’s Discipline for Off-Campus Social Media Post Violated Student’s First Amendment Free Speech Rights

In re Appeal of G.S., 269 A.3d 718, 722 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2022), appeal denied, 61 MAL 2022, 2022 WL 2447538 (Pa. July 6, 2022) (The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court determined that the expulsion of a student for a social media...more

Filling Vacancies With Internal Candidates Without Application Process Leads to Discrimination Claim

S.G. v. Norristown Area S.D., No. 20-1682, 2021WL 6063122 (E.D. Pa. Dec. 22, 2021) (Federal court allowed a discrimination claim of part-time teacher to proceed arising from a school district’s practice of hiring internal...more

Ban of Disruptive Parent from School Events not an Unconstitutional Speech Infringement

McNett v. Jefferson-Morgan Sch. Dist., 2:21-CV-01064-RJC, 2021 WL 5505849, at *1 (W.D. Pa. Nov. 23, 2021) (A parent’s challenge to being banned from school events for disruptive behavior found not to have violated his...more

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