A pharmacy wage fight just redrew the statute of limitations map for every PA employer
Pennsylvania employers just got a much shorter clock to worry about on old overtime claims.
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled on October 21, 2026, that employees have three years - not six - to file civil actions for unpaid wages under the state’s Minimum Wage Act. The 2-1 decision reversed a trial court order that had kept a longer filing window in play.
The case began when the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, acting on behalf of 20 employees, filed an amended complaint on May 8, 2023. The department alleged that Accuserv Pharmacy, Inc., North Huntingdon Medical, Inc., and an individual employer failed to pay overtime wages for work done at various points between 2017 and 2019. The most recent pay period in the filing ended May 25, 2019.
The employers moved for judgment on the pleadings, arguing the claims were filed too late. Their case: the three-year statute of limitations in the Wage Payment and Collection Law should govern wage recovery actions under the Minimum Wage Act as well, even though the Minimum Wage Act itself is silent on a deadline.
The trial court sided with the department. It applied the six-year residual limitation period in the Judicial Code - a catch-all that covers civil actions not subject to a more specific deadline - and let the case proceed.
The Commonwealth Court reversed.
The majority held that the wage recovery provisions in the two...
For years, Democrats and Republicans have debated the significance of the laptop, which was left for repair at a Delaware shop. Today at 3:52 p.m. EDT The Justice Department on Friday charged two f...