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Employment Law

Nothing to sneeze at: Reach of wrongful-discharge law limited

05/27/2009

Pennsylvania common law protects employees from discharges that violate public policy, but what violates public policy isn’t defined. Courts must therefore decide what the term means.

Fired for using ‘N-word’, news anchor sues

05/27/2009

WTXF TV news anchor Tom Burlington has sued his former employer claiming discrimination after he was fired for using the “N-word” in an editorial meeting called at the Philadelphia station to discuss a news story about a mock funeral to bury the “N-word.”

Federal employment bias claims may be subject to grievance arbitration

05/27/2009

On April 1, the U.S. Supreme Court held that arbitration provisions in collective-bargaining agreements that clearly and unmistakably require arbitration of Age Discrimination in Employment (ADEA) claims are enforceable.

Are we allowed to cut full-time employees’ hours to meet budget requirements?

05/27/2009

Q. Can we legally reduce the hours of full-time employees in one of our divisions because it needs to cut overhead?

What are the rules on letting a former employee see her personnel file?

05/27/2009

Q. Are we required to let terminated employees come in and view their personnel files, or can we copy the information and send it via mail? One of our fired employees has hired an attorney and wants to see her file.

Can we do anything about an employee who files false harassment claims?

05/27/2009

Q. An employee of ours has filed several sexual harassment complaints. But when we have investigated, they have turned out to be false. Can we do something about her?

What should we do? We’re afraid our diabetic employee is a danger to herself and others

05/27/2009

Q. One of our employees, who has diabetes, is on the road a lot tending to patients in their homes. We’ve heard that she is having trouble seeing patient charts and difficulty pricking patients’ fingers for tests. What should we do?

The HR I.Q. Test: June ’09

05/27/2009

Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

Former aide to Ridge apparently embezzled—again

05/27/2009

Lauretta Simmons was convicted of embezzling $93,500 from then Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge’s campaign in 2000. Ridge went on to become the nation’s first Secretary of Homeland Security. Simmons apparently went on to greater things as well—to the tune of more than $300,000.

Can being ‘overly friendly’ equal harassment?

05/26/2009

Title VII protects employees from discrimination based on sex, and sexual harassment is sex discrimination. Essentially, the law protects employees from harassment because of sex—and that can include same-sex harassment. But at what point do friendships among co-workers run the risk of slipping into dangerous territory?