Labor Laws
The Wage Payment and Collection Law makes sure employees are paid on time for their work.
Examples of Violations:
- Employers not paying agreed wages without notice.
- Employers not giving the last paycheck when employment ends.
- Employers not paying employees on time as agreed.
- Employers making improper deductions from employee wages, like for equipment costs.
L&I decides how much construction workers in PA should be paid and makes sure those rates are followed under the Prevailing Wage Act. They also set job categories for big construction projects funded with over $25,000 in public money.
Examples of Violations
- Employers who fail to pay their employees the prevailing wage rate for their trade and occupation.
- Employers who misclassify their employees as independent contractors in order to avoid paying employees the prevailing wage.
The Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act sets a minimum wage and overtime pay for workers and tells employers what they need to do to follow the rules.
Examples of Violations:
- Paying employees less than $7.25 per hour.
- Paying tipped workers less than $2.83 per hour.
- Taking tip credits from workers who make less than $135 in tips per month.
- Not paying employees 1.5 times their regular rate after 40 hours in a week.
- Not keeping accurate records of employee earnings.
- Deducting credit card fees from an employee's tips.
PA Minimum Wage Act Regulations – Why We’re Listening
Calling all Workers, Employers, and Other Stakeholders – We Want to Hear From You!
The PA Minimum Wage Act provides minimum wage and overtime protections for workers throughout the Commonwealth. The regulations (or “rules”) used to enforce the Act are intended to provide additional clarity and consistency for workers and employers.
Many of the Minimum Wage Act’s rules have not been updated for decades, and L&I is beginning a comprehensive review and potential rulemaking to make sure the rules are easily understandable and reflect today’s workplaces.
- Are there existing Minimum Wage Act rules you would like to see updated or clarified?
- Are there topics you would like to see addressed with new Minimum Wage Act rules?
- NOTE: We cannot address the minimum wage rate with any new rulemaking.
No decisions have been made, and public input will play a key role in understanding where clarification or modernization may be needed. Please join us and make your voice heard on these important issues.
Save the Date! Listening Sessions: In-Person and Virtual
L&I will be holding several in-person listening sessions around the Commonwealth:
- Pittsburgh – Thursday, March 5
- Philadelphia – Tuesday, March 10
- Harrisburg – March 18
There will also be opportunities to attend virtual listening sessions:
- Virtual Listening Session I – Wednesday, February 25
- Virtual Listening Session II – Monday, March 23
- Additional sessions may be scheduled based on demand.
Pre-registration will be required—please check this page for updates and further details about locations and times.
The Child Labor Act ensures the health, safety, and welfare of minors by prohibiting work in certain establishments and occupations, restricting hours of labor, regulating certain conditions of employment, and requiring employment certificates.
Examples of Violations:
- Children who do not receive a 30-minute meal period during five consecutive hours of work.
- Children under 14 working in any occupation (exception may include some farm and domestic service works or newspaper carriers)
- Children under 16 who do not have a written statement by their parent or legal guardian that grants permission to work.
- Children under 16 working before 5 a.m. or after 8 p.m.
- Children between 14 and 16 working at times that interfere with regular school hours.
The Prohibition of Excessive Overtime in Health Care Act (Act 102) prohibits a health care facility from requiring employees to work more than agreed to, predetermined, and regularly scheduled work shifts. Act 102 covers employees involved in direct patient care or clinical care services who receive an hourly wage or who are classified as nonsupervisory employees for collective bargaining purposes.
Examples of Violations
- Workers made to work the next shift without a good reason.
- Employers not giving a worker 10 hours off right after working more than 12 hours in a row.
- Healthcare places not giving extra time to workers doing overtime to arrange care for their child or family member with a disability.
The Pennsylvania Construction Workplace Misclassification Act (Act 72) addresses the misclassification of construction workers to protect workers’ rights and ensure they receive fair compensation and benefits. Act 72 presumes construction workers to be employees unless they meet certain criteria to be classified as independent contractors.
Examples of Violations
- Workers being misclassified as independent contractors when they should be classified as employees.
- Employers who force individual(s) to enter into an agreement or sign a document which results in misclassification as an independent contractor.
- Employers who intentionally partner with another business knowing that business intends to misclassify employees.
- Employers who do not have a written contract for their legitimate independent contractors.
Establishing minimum wages and providing for hours of labor of seasonal farm workers and requiring certain records; providing for inspection of seasonal farm labor camps; providing for the promulgation of rules and regulations; establishing rights of access and egress, providing penalties; and repealing certain acts.
Relating to the performance of industrial work in homes; regulating, and in certain cases prohibiting, industrial homework; imposing duties, restrictions and liabilities on industrial home-workers and on persons, partnerships, associations and corporations, directly or indirectly furnishing materials and articles to home-workers for manufacture or work thereon; requiring permits and home-workers' certificates and prescribing the fees therefor; conferring powers and imposing duties on the Department of Labor and Industry; and prescribing penalties.
Prohibiting discrimination in rate of pay because of sex; conferring powers and imposing duties on the Department of Labor and Industry; and prescribing penalties.
Requiring employers to pay for medical examination fee where such examination is a condition for employment, and providing a penalty.
Examples of Violations:
- an employer requires employees to receive a medical inspection as a requirement of employment and requires the employee to pay for the medical examination.
Act 75 prohibits the employment of unauthorized employees; requires construction industry employers to verify the Social Security numbers of employees; and imposes penalties.
Authorizing an employee to inspect certain personnel files of his employer.