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Employment Law

Philly area hospital workers lose lunch break, file lawsuit

12/23/2009

Workers at nine Philadelphia area hospitals have filed a class-action overtime lawsuit claiming the hospitals’ practice of automatically deducting lunch periods deprives them of overtime pay.

Settlement ends bias suit against Wyomissing company

12/23/2009

Wyomissing-based industrial fastener and tool maker SFS Intec has agreed to settle an EEOC discrimination lawsuit arising at a plant in Ohio. Two Hispanic employees complained of being denied training opportunities that were open to non-Hispanics.

Security guards at Rivers Casino reject union

12/23/2009

Security guards at Pittsburgh’s new Rivers Casino rejected an organizing bid by the Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA) union. In a close vote, the guards rejected unionization 38-35.

HR’s New Year’s resolutions: The top 10 to-do’s in 2010

12/23/2009

As you gear up for a new year, here are some key to-do’s that will minimize the risk of lawsuits: Make sure your company has considered how a potential flu pandemic could affect your operations … Get to know GINA … Keep an eye on the feds … Beware hasty terminations … Watch wage-and-hour issues … Make the ADA interactive … Focus on union issues … Manage social media …

How should we handle partial days off for our salaried business manager?

12/23/2009

Q. We’re a nine-physician medical clinic, and we employ a salaried business manager. Her duties include personnel, hiring, firing and office work. We don’t give her comp time or overtime pay. If she takes a partial day off, she must use vacation time (paid time off). Are we handling this correctly?

How can we find out whether employees are poaching health coverage for partners?

12/23/2009

Q. A few of our employees have added their spouses to our health benefits plan. We’ve heard through the grapevine that some of these couples aren’t actually married. Can we check on this without being discriminatory?

Do we need to provide a ‘sick couch’?

12/23/2009

Q. Are we required to provide a couch or cot on the premises in the event that an employee becomes ill? Are there any laws that dictate safety or health reasons for doing this?

Firing due to ‘romantic tension’: Is it sex bias?

12/22/2009

When co-worker relationships break up, tensions can boil over in the workplace. Back-stabbing and name-calling may play out in the office—and that may require discipline. When that happens, investigate thoroughly. But watch out for discipline that looks suspiciously like discrimination against just one of the former lovebirds.

Call lawyer about new accommodation class

12/22/2009

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, with jurisdiction over California employers, has ruled that the federal Rehabilitation Act covers discrimination claims brought by an independent contractor. The Rehabilitation Act applies to federal agencies, government contractors and organizations that receive federal funding.

You might want to sit down: New class-action danger arises

12/22/2009

California employers are popular targets for lawyers looking for the next big lawsuit hit. They may have found a new one right under their … well … butts.