Pennsylvania 2025 2025-2026 Regular Session

Pennsylvania Senate Bill SB548 Introduced / Bill

                     
PRINTER'S NO. 565 
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL 
No.548 
Session of 
2025 
INTRODUCED BY SAVAL, KEARNEY, FONTANA, HAYWOOD, HUGHES, KIM, 
TARTAGLIONE, COSTA AND COMITTA, APRIL 4, 2025 
REFERRED TO LABOR AND INDUSTRY, APRIL 4, 2025 
AN ACT
Providing for fair workweek employment standards and for powers 
and duties of the Department of Labor and Industry; and 
imposing penalties.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1.  Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Fair Workweek 
Employment Standards Act.
Section 2.  Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall 
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the 
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Caterer."  A person primarily engaged in providing single 
event-based food services.
"Chain."  A set of establishments that do business under the 
same trade name or service mark and that are characterized by 
standardized options for decor, marketing, packaging, products 
and services, regardless of the type of ownership of each 
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18 individual establishment.
"Covered employer."  A retail establishment, hospitality 
establishment or food services establishment that, worldwide, 
employs 250 or more employees and has 20 or more locations 
regardless of where the employees perform work, including chain 
establishments or franchises associated with a franchisor or 
network of franchises that employ more than 250 employees in 
aggregate. The term includes an individual, partnership, 
association, corporation or business trust or any person or 
group of persons, or a successor of such, that employs another 
person in a retail establishment, hospitality establishment or 
food services establishment, including a person acting directly 
or indirectly in the interest of the employer in relation to the 
employee.
"Department."  The Department of Labor and Industry of the 
Commonwealth.
"Employee."  An individual employed or permitted to work at 
or for a covered employer within the geographic boundaries of 
this Commonwealth who is required under Federal or State law to 
be paid at an overtime rate for hours in excess of a maximum 
number per workweek, including full-time employees, part-time 
employees and seasonal and temporary workers and whose job 
duties involve the provision of retail trade services, food 
services or hospitality services at or for a covered employer.
"Food service contractor."  An establishment primarily 
engaged in providing food services at institutional, 
governmental, commercial or industrial locations of others based 
on an contractual arrangement for a specified period of time.
"Food services establishment."  As follows:
(1)  An establishment that prepares meals, snacks and 
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30 beverages to a customer's order for immediate on-premises and 
off-premises consumption.
(2)  The term includes:
(i)  Food service contractors.
(ii)  Caterers.
(iii)  Mobile food services.
(iv)  Restaurants.
(3)  The term includes hospitality establishments, 
amusement parks, theaters, casinos, country clubs and civic 
and social organizations if the food services are provided by 
a separate establishment primarily engaged in providing food 
and beverage services.
(4)  The term does not include dinner cruises.
"Hospitality establishment."  An establishment primarily 
engaged in providing short-term lodging in facilities known as 
hotels, motor hotels, resort hotels and motels which may offer 
food and beverage services, recreational services, conference 
rooms, convention services, laundry services, parking and other 
services for customers.
"Mobile food services."  An establishment primarily engaged 
in preparing and serving meals and snacks for immediate 
consumption from motorized vehicles or nonmotorized carts.
"On-call shift."  Any time that a covered employer requires 
an employee to be available to work, or to contact the covered 
employer or the covered employer's designee or wait to be 
contacted by the covered employer or designee, to determine 
whether the employee must report to work at that time.
"Posted work schedule."  The written work schedule that a 
covered employer is required to provide to employees under 
section 3(c) and post under section 3(d).
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30 "Retail establishment."  The fixed point-of-sale location of 
a retail business, including:
(1)  New and used car dealerships.
(2)  Furniture and home furnishing stores.
(3)  Building material and garden equipment and supplies 
dealers.
(4)  Food and beverage stores, including grocery stores, 
convenience stores, specialty food stores, meat markets, fish 
and seafood markets, fruit and vegetable markets, baked goods 
stores, confectionery and nut stores and beer, wine and 
liquor stores.
(5)  Health and personal care stores, including 
pharmacies and drug stores; cosmetics, beauty supplies and 
perfume stores; optical goods stores; and health supplement 
stores.
(6)  Gasoline stations.
(7)  Clothing stores, clothing accessories stores, shoe 
stores, jewelry stores, luggage stores and leather goods 
stores.
(8)  Sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book 
stores.
(9)  General merchandise stores, including department 
stores.
(10)  Miscellaneous store retailers, including florists, 
office suppliers, stationery stores, gift stores, novelty and 
souvenir stores, used merchandise stores, pet stores and art 
dealers.
"Secretary."  The Secretary of Labor and Industry of the 
Commonwealth.
"Service mark."  As defined in 54 Pa.C.S. § 1102 (relating to 
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30 definitions).
"Shift."  The consecutive hours a covered employer requires 
an employee to work or to be on call to work, provided that 
breaks totaling two hours or less may not be considered an 
interruption of consecutive hours.
"Successor."  A person to whom a covered employer that quits, 
sells out, exchanges or disposes of a business sells or 
otherwise conveys in bulk and not in the ordinary course of the 
covered employer's business, a major part of the property, 
whether real or personal, tangible or intangible, of the covered 
employer's business.
"Ticketed event."  A sporting, entertainment, civic, 
charitable or other event that requires a ticket for admission. 
The ticket may be electronic, physical or a name on a list held 
by the event organizer.
"Trade name."  As defined in 54 Pa.C.S. § 1102.
"Work schedule."  All of an employee's shifts and on-call 
shifts, including specific start and end times for each shift, 
during a workweek.
"Workweek."  A period of seven consecutive days beginning on 
a designated day.
"Written communication."  Communication by print or 
electronic means, including e-mail, text messages, use of 
scheduling applications or other forms of communication that can 
be saved in an original format.
Section 3.  Advance notice of work schedules.
(a)  Good faith estimate.--Upon hiring an employee, a covered 
employer shall provide the employee with a written, good faith 
estimate of the employee's work schedule. The covered employer 
shall revise the good faith estimate when there is a significant 
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30 change to the employee's work schedule due to changes in the 
employee's availability or to the covered employer's business 
needs. The good faith estimate is not a binding contractual 
offer binding the covered employer. An estimate made without a 
good faith basis shall be a violation of this section. The good 
faith estimate shall contain:
(1)  The average number of work hours the employee can 
expect to work each week over a typical 90-day period.
(2)  Whether the employee can expect to work any on-call 
shifts.
(3)  A subset of days and a subset of times or shifts 
that the employee can typically expect to work or days of the 
week and times or shifts on which the employee will not be 
scheduled to work.
(b)  Work schedule requests.--At the time of hire and during 
employment, an employee has the right to make work schedule 
requests. A covered employer may grant or deny the request for 
any reason that is not unlawful. The work schedule requests may 
include:
(1)  Requests not to be scheduled for work shifts during 
certain days or times or at certain locations.
(2)  Requests not to work on-call shifts.
(3)  Requests for certain hours, days or locations of 
work.
(4)  Requests for more or fewer work hours.
(c)  Written work schedule.--At the commencement of 
employment, a covered employer shall provide an employee with a 
written work schedule that runs through the last date of the 
currently posted work schedule. Thereafter, a covered employer 
shall provide advanced written notice of work hours as provided 
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30 under subsection (d). Nothing under this section shall be 
construed to prohibit a covered employer from providing greater 
advanced notice of employees' work schedules and changes in 
schedules as required by this section.
(d)  Advanced notice of work schedule.--Written notice of the 
posted work schedule shall be provided in a conspicuous and 
accessible location where employee notices are customarily 
posted. If a covered employer posts the posted work schedule in 
an electronic format, all employees in the workplace shall have 
access to the posted work schedule onsite. The posted work 
schedule shall include the employees' shifts at that work site, 
whether or not employees are scheduled to work or be on call, 
and the posted work schedule shall be posted no later than 14 
days before the first day of the new schedule beginning January 
1, 2026.
(e)  Changes to work schedule.--If the covered employer 
requests changes to the written work schedule after the advanced 
notice required under subsection (d) has been posted, the 
following shall apply:
(1)  The covered employer shall provide the employee with 
timely notice of the change by in-person conversation, 
telephone call, e-mail, text message or other accessible 
electronic or written format.
(2)  The employee may decline to work any shifts not 
included in the employee's written work schedule. If the 
employee voluntarily consents to work the hours, the consent 
shall be recorded by written communication. A written 
communication of an employee's desire to work shifts made 
available under section 6 shall constitute written consent.
Section 4.  Compensation for changed work schedules.
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30 (a)  Predictability pay.--For each covered employer-initiated 
change to the posted work schedule that occurs after the posting 
required under section 3(d), a covered employer shall pay an 
employee predictability pay at the following rates, in addition 
to the employee's regular pay for hours actually worked by the 
employee:
(1)  One hour at the employee's regular rate of pay when 
the covered employer adds time to a work shift or changes the 
date, time or location of a work shift, with no loss of 
hours.
(2)  No less than one-half of the employee's regular rate 
of pay per hour for any scheduled hours the employee does not 
work for the following reasons:
(i)  hours are subtracted from a regular or on-call 
shift; or
(ii)  a regular or on-call shift is canceled.
(3)  No less than two-thirds of the employee's regular 
rate of pay per hour if a regular or on-call shift is 
canceled or reduced two days or less prior to the start of 
the shift.
(b)  Exception.--A covered employer is not required to pay 
additional compensation under subsection (a) to an employee 
under this section or obtain written consent under section 3(e)
(2) if:
(1)  An employee requests a shift change by written 
communication, including voluntary additions or subtractions 
of hours that are initiated by the employee or the use of 
sick leave, vacation leave or other leave policies offered by 
the covered employer.
(2)  A schedule change is the result of a mutually 
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30 agreed-upon shift trade or coverage arrangement between 
employees, subject to any covered employer's policy regarding 
required conditions for employees to exchange shifts.
(3)  The covered employer's operations cannot begin or 
continue due to:
(i)  threats to the employees or the covered 
employer's property;
(ii)  the failure of a public utility or the shutdown 
of public transportation;
(iii)  a fire, flood or other natural disaster;
(iv)  a state of emergency declared by the President 
of the United States or the Governor; or
(v)  severe weather conditions that disrupt 
transportation or pose a threat to employee safety.
(4)  An employee begins or ends work no more than 20 
minutes before or after the scheduled start or end time of 
the shift.
(5)  An employee volunteers to work additional hours in 
response to a mass written communication from the covered 
employer about the availability of additional hours, provided 
that the mass communication is only used for additional hours 
that are the result of another employee being unable to work 
scheduled hours, and the communication makes clear that 
accepting the hours is voluntary and the employee has the 
right to decline the hours.
(6)  Employee hours are subtracted due to termination of 
employment or the covered employer subtracts hours from an 
employee's work schedule for disciplinary reasons under a 
multiday suspension, provided the employer documents in 
writing the incident leading to the disciplinary action.
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30 (7)  A ticketed event is canceled, rescheduled, 
postponed, delayed, increases in expected attendance by 20% 
or more or changes in duration due to circumstances that are 
outside the covered employer's control and that occur after 
the covered employer provides the posted work schedule 
required under section 3(d). Additional hours due to a change 
in a ticketed event's duration that fall within this 
exemption shall also be fully exempt from section 3(d).
Section 5.  Right to rest between work shifts.
(a)  Decline or consent.--
(1)  An employee may decline, without penalty, any work 
hours that are scheduled or otherwise occur:
(i)  less than 11 hours after the end of the previous 
day's shift; or
(ii)  during the 11 hours following the end of a 
shift that spanned two days.
(2)  An employee may consent to work shifts under 
paragraph (1). Consent shall be provided by written 
communication, either for each shift or for multiple shifts 
and may be revoked by written communication at any time 
during employment.
(b)  Compensation.--A covered employer shall compensate the 
employee for each instance that the employee works a shift 
described under subsection (a) in the amount of $40 for each 
shift.
Section 6.  Offer of work to existing employees.
(a)  Requirement to offer work shifts.--Before hiring a new 
employee from an external applicant pool or a subcontractor, 
including hiring through the use of temporary services or 
staffing agencies, a covered employer shall offer work shifts to 
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30 existing employees as provided under this section.
(b)  Notice.--The covered employer shall provide written 
notice of available work shifts for at least 72 hours unless a 
shorter period is necessary in order for the work to be timely 
performed and in accordance with the following:
(1)  The notice shall be in English and in the primary 
language of the employees at the particular workplace and 
posted in a conspicuous location at the workplace that is 
readily accessible and visible to all employees. The notice 
shall also be provided electronically to each employee if the 
covered employer customarily communicates scheduling 
information in an electronic form to employees.
(2)  The notice shall include a description of the 
position and its required qualifications, the schedule of 
available shifts, the length of time the covered employer 
anticipates requiring coverage of the additional hours and 
the process by which an employee may notify the covered 
employer of the employee's desire to work the offered shifts.
(3)  The covered employer may provide the notice 
concurrently at the location where the shifts described in 
the notice will be worked, locations other than the location 
where the work is to be performed and to external candidates.
(c)  Existing employees.--A covered employer shall distribute 
shifts, in accordance with the criteria contained in the notice 
required under subsection (b)(2), to one or more existing 
employees who have accepted the shifts and who, to a reasonable 
covered employer acting in good faith, are qualified to perform 
the work, provided that:
(1)  A covered employer shall distribute shifts to 
employees whose regular workplace is the location where the 
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30 shifts described in the notice will be worked or, if no 
employee accepts the shifts within the time as provided under 
this section and it is a regular practice of the covered 
employer to schedule employees across multiple locations, to 
employees whose regular workplace is a covered location other 
than the location where the shifts will be worked. If it is 
not a regular practice of the covered employer, offering 
additional shifts to employees at a different location shall 
be at the option of the covered employer.
(2)  The covered employer's system for distribution of 
hours may not discriminate on the basis of race, color, 
creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual 
orientation, gender identity, disability, age, marital or 
familial status or on the basis of family caregiving 
responsibilities or status as a student, and the covered 
employer may not distribute hours in a manner intended to 
avoid application of the Patient Protection and Affordable 
Care Act (Public Law 111-148, 124 Stat. 119).
(d)  External applicants.--A covered employer may hire 
individuals from an external applicant pool or subcontractors to 
perform the work described in, and in accordance with the 
criteria provided in, the notice posted under subsection (b)(2) 
if the covered employer provides notice of available work shifts 
as required under this section and:
(1)  no employee accepts the offer of available work 
shifts within 24 hours of the end of the 72-hour-posting 
period;
(2)  the covered employer receives written confirmation 
from eligible employees that they are not interested in 
accepting the available work shifts; or
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30 (3)  existing employees have accepted a subset of the 
offered work shifts, in which case the existing employees 
shall be awarded that subset of work shifts, and external 
applicants may be offered the remaining shifts.
(e)  Construction.--This section shall not be construed to 
require a covered employer to offer employees work hours paid at 
a premium rate under Federal or State law or to prohibit a 
covered employer from offering the work hours.
(f)  Notice of policy.--A covered employer shall notify an 
employee by written communication of the covered employer's 
policy for offering and distributing work shifts under this 
section at the time of hire and within 24 hours of any change in 
the policy and shall post the notice in an accessible location 
in the workplace. The notice shall include:
(1)  Where an employee can access written notices of 
available work shifts.
(2)  The process by which an employee may notify the 
covered employer of the employee's desire to work the 
available work shifts.
(3)  The criteria for distribution of work shifts among 
qualified and interested employees.
(g)  Rules and regulations.--The department shall issue rules 
and promulgate regulations limiting the applicability of this 
section with regard to trainees who work for a limited time at a 
particular location.
Section 7.  Exercise of rights protected and retaliation 
prohibited.
(a)  General prohibition.--It shall be unlawful for a covered 
employer or any other person to interfere with, restrain or deny 
the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right under 
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30 this act.
(b)  Adverse action prohibited.--No person shall take any 
adverse action that penalizes an employee for, or is reasonably 
likely to deter the employee from, exercising or attempting to 
exercise any right under this act.
(c)  Applicability.--Protections under this section shall 
apply to any individual who mistakenly but in good faith alleges 
violations of this act.
(d)  Rebuttable presumption.--It shall be considered a 
rebuttable presumption of retaliation if the covered employer or 
any other person takes an adverse action against an employee 
within 90 calendar days of the employee's exercise of rights 
protected under this section unless due to disciplinary reasons 
for just cause, provided the covered employer documents in 
writing the incident relating to the employee's discipline. In 
the case of seasonal employment that ended before the close of 
the 90-calendar-day period, the presumption also applies if the 
covered employer fails to rehire a former employee at the next 
opportunity for work in the same position.
(e)  Definition.--As used in this section, the term "adverse 
action" means the following:
(1)  Threatening, intimidating, disciplining, 
discharging, demoting, suspending or harassing an employee.
(2)  Assigning an employee to a lesser position in terms 
of job classification, job security or other condition of 
employment.
(3)  Reducing the hours or pay of an employee or denying 
the employee additional hours.
(4)  Discriminating against the employee, including 
actions or threats related to perceived immigration status or 
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30 work authorization.
Section 8.  Enforcement.
(a)  Duties of secretary.--The secretary shall have the duty 
to:
(1)  Enforce and administer this act.
(2)  Investigate any alleged violations of this act.
(3)  Institute prosecutions and actions as provided under 
this act.
(b)  Prohibition.--Nothing in this act shall authorize the 
secretary to initiate a civil action for unpaid wages which are 
subject to disposition under grievance and arbitration 
procedures of a collective bargaining agreement.
(c)  Rules and regulations.--The department may issue rules 
and promulgate regulations necessary to administer this act.
Section 9.  Notice.
(a)  Posting requirement.--Each covered employer shall post 
and keep posted, in conspicuous and accessible places on the 
premises of the covered employer where notices to employees and 
applicants for employment are customarily posted, a notice, to 
be prepared or approved by the department, providing the rights 
and privileges provided under this act, stating that retaliation 
against employees for exercising rights under this act is 
prohibited and providing other information as the department may 
require. The notice shall be posted in English and in the 
primary language of the employees at the particular worksite.
(b)  Notice of right to report improper suspension.--An 
employee who receives reduced hours due to a multiday 
disciplinary suspension under section 4(b)(6) shall be given 
written notice. If the employee believes the suspension was 
improperly imposed to manipulate or reduce the employee's 
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30 schedule in violation of this act, the employee may report the 
suspension to the department to investigate.
Section 10.  Covered employer records.
(a)  Retention.--A covered employer shall keep records 
necessary to demonstrate compliance with this act, including 
good faith estimates of work schedules and any modifications, 
written consent for work shifts as required by this act, offers 
of work shifts to existing employees and responses to those 
offers and payroll records that specify the amount of additional 
compensation paid to employees under sections 4 and 5. Covered 
employers shall retain the records for a period of two years and 
shall allow the department access to the records, with 
appropriate notice and at a mutually agreeable time, to monitor 
compliance with the requirements of this act. When an issue 
arises relating to a covered employer's compliance with this 
act, if the covered employer does not maintain or retain 
adequate records documenting compliance or does not allow the 
department reasonable access to the records within 30 days of 
the department's request, it shall be presumed that the covered 
employer has violated this act, absent clear and convincing 
evidence otherwise.
(b)  Work schedules.--Upon request by an employee, and in 
accordance with the rules and regulations of the department, a 
covered employer shall provide the employee with work schedules 
for all employees at the location in writing for any previous 
week for the past two years, including the originally posted and 
modified versions of work schedules.
Section 11.  Collective bargaining.
Any provisions of this act may be waived in a bona fide 
collective bargaining agreement, but only if the waiver is 
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30 explicitly provided in the agreement in clear and unmistakable 
terms and only if the agreement is in effect contractually. 
Unilateral implementation of terms and conditions of employment 
by either party to a collective bargaining relationship shall 
not constitute, or be permitted, as a waiver of any part of this 
act.
Section 12.  Enforcement and penalties.
(a)  Reporting.--An employee or other individual may report 
to the department any suspected violation of this act.
(b)  Duties of department.--The department shall take steps 
as it deems appropriate to resolve complaints and enforce this 
act, including establishing a system to receive complaints 
regarding noncompliance with this act and investigating alleged 
violations in a timely manner. The department may open an 
investigation on the department's own initiative.
(c)  Filing complaint.--An individual alleging a violation of 
this act shall file a complaint with the department within two 
years of the date the individual knew or should have known of 
the alleged violation. The identity of a complainant shall 
remain confidential unless disclosure of the complainant's 
identity is necessary for resolution of any investigation by the 
department or otherwise required by law. The department shall, 
to the extent practicable, notify the complainant that the 
department will be disclosing the complainant's identity prior 
to the disclosure.
(d)  Investigation.--Upon receiving a complaint alleging a 
violation of this act, the department shall investigate the 
complaint. The department may designate representatives to 
inspect worksites and access records required to be maintained 
under section 10. The department shall keep complainants 
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30 reasonably notified regarding the status of the complaint and a 
resulting investigation.
(e)  Subpoena power.--The department shall have the power to 
subpoena records and testimony from any party to a complaint. 
The records shall be provided to the department within 30 days 
after receipt of the subpoena.
(f)  Penalties and fines.--The department shall have the 
power to impose penalties and fines for a violation of this act 
and to provide or obtain appropriate relief. Remedies may 
include reinstatement and full restitution to the employee for 
lost wages and benefits, including predictability pay required 
under section 4 of this act. A covered employer that violates 
this act shall be fined:
(1)  For a violation of section 9:
(i)  For a first violation, $500.
(ii)  For a second violation, $1,000.
(iii)  For a third or subsequent violation, $2,000.
(2)  For a violation of any other provision of this act:
(i)  For a first violation, $1,000.
(ii)  For a second violation, $1,500.
(iii)  For a third or subsequent violation, $3,000.
(g)  Civil action.--The department, an individual aggrieved 
by a violation of this act or an entity, a member of which is 
aggrieved by a violation of this act, may bring a civil action 
in a court of competent jurisdiction against a covered employer 
that has violated this act in accordance with the following:
(1)  If during the pendency of a determination by the 
department, prior to the issuance of a final decision, an 
employee brings a private action under this act in a court of 
competent jurisdiction seeking relief based upon the same 
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30 facts and allegations as the employee's complaint under this 
act, or affirmatively or by consent opts to participate in 
litigation, that employee's complaint to the department shall 
be deemed withdrawn with respect to any respondent covered 
employer named as a defendant in a court action.
(2)  Nothing in this act or its implementing regulations 
shall be construed to require a complaint to be filed with 
the department before bringing an action in court or before 
another governmental agency.
(3)  Upon prevailing in an action brought under this 
section, an aggrieved individual shall recover the full 
amount of unpaid compensation, including predictability pay, 
to which the individual would have been entitled under this 
act, any wages and benefits lost, presumed damages under 
subsection (f) and department regulations, other damages 
suffered as the result of the covered employer's violation of 
this act and an equal amount, up to a maximum of $2,000, as 
liquidated damages. An aggrieved individual shall also be 
entitled to an award of reasonable attorney fees and costs.
(4)  Upon prevailing in an action brought under this 
section, an aggrieved individual shall be entitled to any 
legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the 
violation, which may not be duplicative of relief provided to 
the individual in administrative proceedings, including, 
without limitation, reinstatement in employment, back pay and 
injunctive relief.
(h)  Statute of limitations.--The statute of limitations for 
a civil action brought under this section shall be two years 
from the date the alleged violation occurred.
Section 13.  Applicability.
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30 This act shall not apply to a covered employer in a city of 
the first class.
Section 14.  Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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