/>iOn May 27, 2025, Philadelphia enacted the Protect Our Workers, Enforce Rights Act (“POWER Act”), amending Title 9 of The Philadelphia Code as it pertains to the following sections: “Promoting Healthy Families and Workplaces,” “Wage Theft Complaints,” “Protections for Domestic Workers,” “Protecting Victims of Retaliation,” and “Enforcement of Worker Protection Ordinances.”
Amendments to Chapter 9-4100 Promoting Healthy Families and Workplaces
The definition of who may file a wage theft complaint has been broadened. Now, any “employee” (including independent contractors misclassified as such) who performs work in Philadelphia is explicitly authorized to file a complaint for unpaid wages, regardless of immigration status. Additionally, the Office of Worker Protections (OWP), as opposed to just the offices the Mayor designates, may now initiate investigations based on information, even if a formal complaint has not yet been filed—allowing the City to proactively enforce the law in high-risk industries.
The POWER Act also changes the calculation for Paid Sick Time (PSL) for tipped employees (i.e., employees who customarily and regularly receive more than fifty dollars ($50) a month in tips from the same employment). Paid sick time means time that is compensated at the same hourly rate and with the same benefits, including health care benefits, as the employee normally earns from the employee’s employment at the time the employee uses the paid sick time and is provided by an employer to an employee. Under the Act’s new calculation method for tipped employees, the hourly rate of pay shall be the numerical average of the hourly wage for “Bartenders,” Waiters & Waitresses,” and “Dining Room & Cafeteria Attendants & Bartender Helpers,” as published by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.
Amendments to Chapter 9-4300 Wage Theft Complaints
The original chapter—enacted in 2020—established protections for domestic workers, including mandatory contracts, rest breaks, and anti-retaliation provisions. The POWER Act strengthens those rights by incorporating them into the city’s broader labor enforcement framework. As with the amendments to the wage theft portions of the law, the Act empowers the OWP to actively investigate complaints and impose penalties against employers who violate domestic workers’ rights.
Amendments to Chapter 9-4500 Protections for Domestic Workers
The OWP also aligns domestic workers’ sick leave rights with the city’s paid sick leave (“PSL”) ordinance, ensuring they now accrue and use paid time off, with a centralized portable benefits system to be developed, regardless of how many employers they work for. The Act further clarifies that live-in domestic workers are fully entitled to these PSL benefits, including protections against retaliation, wage theft, and coercion. Finally, employers must provide written contracts outlining leave time.
Enhanced Anti-Retaliation Provisions
The POWER Act reinforces protections against retaliation for workers who assert their rights under Title 9. Additionally, the Act prohibits employers from retaliating against employees for exercising their rights to use sick time and specifies that employers may not consider paid sick leave covered absences as part of any absence control or disciplinary action. It also places a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation on any employer in certain circumstances.
Notice & Retention of Employer Records Obligations:
Employers are required to provide a written notice of rights to employees, including leave entitlements. Employers must also create and maintain contemporaneous records for a period of three years regarding the hours worked by an employee, including dates, and hours of sick time taken by an employee and payments made to an employee for the sick time.
Penalties:
If the OWP determines that an employer has violated the Act, the agency can seek civil penalties. The OWP also provides for the recovery of liquidated damages and other consequences for repeated violations.
Employers are reminded to review their policies for compliance with these latest legislative updates.
