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Joshua L. Schwartz
Partner

Workers’ Compensation Practice Chair, Diversity & Inclusion Committee Co-chair

Back to All Professionals
Joshua L. Schwartz
Partner

Workers’ Compensation Practice Chair, Diversity & Inclusion Committee Co-chair

Contact
Office

Lancaster, PA

A prolific trial attorney and counselor, Josh is a partner in the firm’s Litigation and Employment practice groups working primarily in employment counseling and litigation, labor law and workers’ compensation.

He represents public and private employers in litigation matters, administrative agency investigations, labor arbitrations and commercial litigation.

Employment Counseling and Litigation
Josh protects employers inside and outside of the courtroom on issues related to employee discipline and termination, workplace harassment, noncompetition and nonsolicitation, whistleblower claims, wage-and-hour compliance, and medical leaves of absence. Josh has presented at numerous seminars and groups throughout his career on employee safety, harassment, medical marijuana, and other compliance and risk management topics.

Labor
Josh works with clients on union avoidance training and counsels employers through union organizing campaigns. Josh also represents a number of unionized workplaces and is an experienced advocate during contract negotiation and grievance arbitration. He is also a trained and certified mediator.

Workers’ Compensation
As the chair of the Barley Snyder Workers’ Compensation Practice Group, Josh assists employers and insurance companies in all aspects of handling alleged and actual work injuries. Josh takes a proactive approach to workers’ compensation claims, working with employers to review job descriptions, safety protocols, and modified duty programs, while offering advice on risk management and cost control.

Josh lives in Manheim Township with his wife, Franklin & Marshall College professor Carey Faulkner, and their two children, Eli and Casey. He can also be seen performing in community theater productions and cabarets throughout central Pennsylvania.

Higher Education Litigation and Counseling
Josh provides comprehensive counseling and training to administrators on student rights and disciplinary issues governed by federal and state laws, including Title IX, Title VI, the ADA, FERPA and others. He assists colleges in creating Title IX-compliant sexual misconduct policies, conducts internal investigations, and offers guidance on faculty matters. Josh has also represented higher education institutions in court and in legal proceedings before the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights.

RECOGNITION
  • Central Penn Business Journal (Forty Under Forty, 2015)
MEMBERSHIP
  • American Arbitration Association, panel member arbitrator
PRESENTATIONS
  • “Employee Handbook Workshop,” Lancaster Chamber (August 2023)
  • “Use of Surveillance in Workers’ Compensation and Employment Cases,” 40th Annual Employment Law Seminar (May 2023)
  • Lancaster Bar Association’s Employment Law Summit (November 2022)
  • Lancaster Chamber’s Employee Handbook Updates: Key Policies and Trends (August 2022)
  • “Anatomy of a Worker’s Compensation Case,” 39th Annual Employment Law Seminar (May 2022)
  • “Employee Handbooks,” 39th Annual Employment Law Seminar (May 2022)
  • “OSHA, COVID-Related EEOC Claims and ADA Violations”, Lancaster SHRM (May 2021)
  • “Ask the Attorney: Return to Work”, Lancaster Chamber (May 2021)
  • “NLRB Updates under the Biden Administration”, 38th Annual Employment Law Seminar (May 2021)
  • “Employer Obligations under OSHA and the Workers’ Compensation Act”, 38th Annual Employment Law Seminar (May 2021)
  • “Drafting Employee Handbooks”, 38th Annual Employment Law Seminar (May 2021)
  • “COVID-19 Vaccines: The Impact on the Hospitality Industry”, webinar (January 2021)
  • “OSHA and Workers’ Compensation”, 37th Annual Barley Snyder Employment Law Seminar (September 2020)
  • “Medical Marijuana”, 37th Annual Barley Snyder Employment Law Seminar (September 2020)
  • “Getting Your Business Back to Business Webinar Part 2”, Barley Snyder Webinar Series (May 2020)
  • “Getting Your Business Back to Business Webinar Part 1”, Barley Snyder Webinar Series (April 2020)
  • “Top 10 HR Myths”, Barley Snyder Employment Law Seminar (May 2019)
  • “Workers’ Compensation Litigation: Understanding the Injured Worker’s Day(s) in Court”, Barley Snyder Employment Law Seminar (May 2019)
  • “Legal Issues Encountered During the Hiring Process”, 2018 Barley Snyder Employment Seminar (May 2018)
  • “Workers’ Compensation: The Role of the Independent Medical Examiner”, 2018 Barley Snyder Employment Seminar (May 2018)
  • “Non-Compete Litigation and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act”, 2018 Barley Snyder Employment Seminar (May 2018)
  • “2018 Employee Handbook Workshop”, Lancaster Chamber (March 2018)
  • “Navigating Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act and the Creation of a New Protected Class”, 2017 Barley Snyder Employment Seminar (April 2017)
  • “Workers’ Compensation: The Panel Physician”, 2017 Barley Snyder Employment Seminar (April 2017)
  • “Common Legal Issues for New Businesses”, PA Treasury’s Small Business Initiative at York College (October 2016)
  • “Workplace Bullying: Applying School Law in an Employment Context”, Barley Snyder Employment Law Seminar (May 2016)
  • “Hand, Wrist, & Elbow Disorders in the Workers’ Compensation Population”, Barley Snyder Employment Law Seminar (May 2016)
  • “Workers’ Compensation: The Role of Medical Evidence in Litigated Cases”, Barley Snyder Employment Law Seminar (April 2015)
  • “Legal Compliance Issues Related to Workplace Safety”, Barley Snyder Employment Law Seminar (April 2015)
  • “Workers’ Compensation: The Role of the Occupational Medicine Physician”, Barley Snyder Employment Law Seminar (May 2014)
  • “Managing Injured and Disabled Employees: FMLA, ADA, and the Workers’ Compensation Act”, Barley Snyder Employment Law Seminar (May 2014)
  • “Workers’ Compensation: Aggravations of Degenerative Conditions”, Barley Snyder Employment Law Seminar (May 2013)
  • “Preparing for “the Inevitable”: Evaluation, Discipline, & Discharge”, Barley Snyder Employment Law Seminar (May 2013)
  • “Workers’ Compensation: Repetitive Injuries”, Barley Snyder Employment Law Seminar (May 2012)
  • Pennsylvania Employment Law Deskbook, contributing author
CLERKSHIPS
  • Law Clerk to the Honorable Jane R. Roth, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (2008-2009)
  • Law Clerk to the Honorable Paul S. Diamond, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (2005-2006)
Joshua L. Schwartz
Education
  • Columbia Law School, J.D.
  • Muhlenberg College, B.A.
Admissions
  • Pennsylvania
  • District of Columbia
  • New York
  • Massachusetts
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Community Involvement
Lancaster Public Library

Vice President, Former Secretary of the Board of Trustees, Steering Committee Member

Congregation Shaarai Shomayim

Board of trustees, Cantorial Soloist, Youth Committee, Ritual Committee

Fulton Theatre

Former Board of Trustees

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