The House Labor and Industry Committee approved this week legislation introduced by Rep. Seth Grove (R-York) that would preempt local governments from passing labor policies that impact private businesses and their employees.
“For decades, labor policy has been set forth at the state level. This led to a predictable economic environment and uniform workplace policies across the Commonwealth,” Grove said. “Of late, however, local governments have adopted local ordinances, creating a patchwork system of policy throughout the state.”
House Bill 861, Grove said, aims to re-establish statewide uniformity in workplace policies.
“This hodgepodge policy system created confusion for employers and could lead many to leave municipalities which added these costly local mandates,” Grove said. “Re-establishing uniformity in workplace policy leaves employers no doubt on laws in Pennsylvania. More than two dozen states already have some sort of preemptive laws on the books.”
Grove noted that local ordinances are also often in conflict with state law and lead to unpredictability for the state’s revenue.
The bill now heads to the full House for further consideration.