One of the hottest topics this year for employers and human resources professionals has been employee privacy and employers’ responsibilities when it comes to privacy rights in the workplace. As we close out 2018 and look forward to 2019, we continue to monitor the latest issues impacting the workplace. Employee Data Privacy: Notably, at the end of 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously decided that employers have a duty to safeguard their employee data. Joint-Employer Standard: The National Labor Relations Board is again reviewing its joint-employer standard and has asked for the public to provide comments, by the end of January 2019, on its proposed standard that would limit a joint-employer to those companies that have substantial, direct, and immediate control over another company’s employee. Exempt Employees: Also, while the issue continues to linger at the federal level, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry has proposed a rule to increase the annual salary threshold for exempt employee to nearly $48,000 by 2022, up from the current rate of about $24,000, and to eliminate several job duty requirements to qualify for the overtime exemption in order to more closely align Pennsylvania regulations with federal regulations.These cases and potential changes in the law could directly affect employees and employee policies that are currently in place. Human Resources professionals should keep an eye on these changes and open communications with their employment law attorney.Attorney Loren Speziale regularly collaborates with business owners and human resource professionals, providing legal guidance and risk management assistance with regard to personnel issues.