Philadelphia Must Face Some of Paralegal’s Wage-and-Hour Claims

A Philadelphia paralegal may pursue overtime claims under Pennsylvania’s minimum wage law, but she failed to show that the city willfully stiffed her on pay, dooming other allegations based on federal law.

The Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act “makes clear that corporations—including municipal corporations like the City—are employers subject to the statute,” so those claims may move forward even as others under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act fall short, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said.

The paralegal, who’s worked in the Philadelphia district attorney’s office since early 2019, accuses the city of misclassifying her ...