In committee hearings last week, House lawmakers were split among party lines on proposals that would expand the state’s anti-trust and prevailing wage laws and prohibit employers from using job applicants’ credit histories during the hiring process. Here is a rundown of some of the action that occurred last week in the legislature relevant to employers:
Anti-Trust Expansion (H.B. 2012)
The House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines (14-11) to advance House Bill 2012 on Wednesday. This legislation would create a Pennsylvania anti-trust statute that expands anti-trust provisions, creates a new “abuse of market power” standard, and requires pre-merger notifications to the Attorney General’s Office for health care facilities.
An “abuse of market power” standard in anti-trust does not exist anywhere in federal anti-trust laws nor in any other state. This new, nebulous standard would make Pennsylvania an extreme outlier. In addition, the bill expands anti-trust powers for the Attorney General and creates a private cause of action that will allow for private anti-trust lawsuits in state court. Additionally, the pre-merger notification requirement will subject health care mergers to additional scrutiny well below the current thresholds for reporting to the FTC and the DOJ.
We opposed this legislation (CLICK HERE for our memo), which is now eligible for a vote in the full House of Representatives.
Prevailing Wage Expansion (H.B. 2153)
The House Labor and Industry Committee voted along party lines (14-11) to advance House Bill 2153 on Wednesday. This legislation would expand the PA Prevailing Wage Act to include custom fabrication.
The PA Prevailing Wage Act requires pre-determined wages be paid to employees on public construction projects and can substantially increase project costs. This legislation would expand this requirement into custom fabrication work which will raise costs on taxpayers, potentially divert projects to out-of-state competitors, and create administrative challenges on employers.
We opposed this legislation (CLICK HERE for our memo), which is now eligible for a vote in the full House of Representatives.
Credit Check Prohibition (H.B. 2207)
The House Labor and Industry Committee also voted along party lines (14-11) to advance House Bill 2207 on Wednesday. This legislation would prohibit employers from obtaining an applicant or employee’s credit history report or using credit history information when making employment decisions.
While credit reports are not typically a standard step in the application and hiring process, there are industries, positions and situations where they are important to making employment decisions, such as financial institutions and positions requiring security clearance. While the bill acknowledges this reality by initially providing exemptions (e.g. banks or when it’s “substantially job-related”) it essentially negates the exemptions by stipulating that the credit history check cannot be the sole factor in the employment decision. The bill also provides a private right of action, which means employers will have to choose between maintaining the integrity of their legitimate hiring policies or potentially facing meritless litigation.
We opposed this legislation (CLICK HERE for our memo), which is now eligible for a vote in the full House of Representatives.