Retaliation Prohibited.
Philadelphia Code § 9-3511
in effect§ 9-3511. Retaliation Prohibited.
(1) It shall be unlawful for an employer or any other person to interfere with, restrain, deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right set forth in this Chapter, or to retaliate against an employee for exercising any rights protected by this Chapter.
(a) There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation under this Section whenever an employer discharges, suspends, demotes, or takes other adverse action against a person within 90 days of when that person engaged in the exercise of rights under this Chapter, including having utilized the provisions of this Chapter to provide information pertinent to an employer’s individualized assessment of the person’s criminal record, except that it shall not be deemed retaliation where an employer has acted in good faith to comply with this Chapter and:
(.1) After receiving and considering additional information provided by the Applicant or Employee pursuant to Section 9-3504.1 of this Chapter, elects to move forward with the rejection of a job application;
(.2) Terminates or otherwise takes adverse action against multiple Employees or Applicants based on legitimate business concerns that are not related to such person’s criminal record or conduct; or
(.3) Exercises their rights under Section 9-3503(2) of this Chapter.
(b) The employer or any person associated with the employer may overcome the presumption by showing by a preponderance of evidence that they took the adverse action for just cause and would have taken the adverse action notwithstanding the protected activity.
(c) Unlawful retaliation shall include adverse actions taken prior, during, or after the termination of the worker’s relationship with the employer.
(d) A causal connection between the protected activity and the adverse action may be established by indirect or direct evidence.
(e) Unlawful retaliation can exist when the protected activity is one of several motivating factors for the adverse action.
Notes
1309.1 | Added, Bill No. 250373-A (approved October 6, 2025), effective January 6, 2026.
Source: City of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Code and Home Rule Charter (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/philadelphia/latest/philadelphia_pa/0-0-0-308242Fetched: 10/27/2026