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Employment Law

Counter retaliation claims by tracking PHRC and EEOC filings, internal complaints

03/01/2008
One of the easiest ways for employees to win discrimination cases is to allege that their employers punished them for complaining about alleged discrimination. Often, employees win those retaliation cases even while losing the underlying discrimination complaint. But employers can defeat retaliation charges by showing that the employee never complained in the first place …

Employees can’t sue under state’s ERA if other laws cover employer

03/01/2008
Employers covered by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act don’t have to worry about being sued separately under the Pennsylvania Constitution’s Equal Rights Amendment …

Philadelphia pushing for more diverse union work force

03/01/2008
In what the Philadelphia City Council is calling a “historic accord,” the city and building trade unions that will work on the $700 million expansion of the Philadelphia Convention Center have agreed to increase the number of minority participants. Under the agreements, the unions have disclosed the demographics of their membership and will push to diversify …

Wal-Mart faces suit over workplace romance

03/01/2008
A former department manager at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Woodland, Clearfield County, is suing the company for gender discrimination after she was fired for having a relationship with an employee …

Philly PD officer reinstated

03/01/2008
Philadelphia Police Department Chief Inspector Evelyn Heath, who was fired for allegedly harassing a fellow officer after their love affair ended, was reinstated with back pay after an arbitrator dismissed misconduct charges against her …

Pennsylvania one of seven hot employment law states

03/01/2008
Pennsylvania is one of seven hot states for wage-and-hour complaints, according to a report by employment law firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP. Fourth Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report shows that wage-and-hour court actions are growing at the highest rates in Pennsylvania, California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Texas …

Can we dock pay for punching in late? Does the employee have a grace period?

03/01/2008
Q. Is there a rule for docking someone’s pay if he punches in late, and if so, how many minutes grace time does he get before you dock him 15 minutes?

What questions are off limits when talking to references and past employers?

03/01/2008
 Q. I understand that it’s illegal to ask applicants certain personal questions. But are there any questions I can’t ask a reference or previous employer? …

How many employees make a ‘Group’ for OWBPA purposes?

03/01/2008
Q. I recently read that the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) requires that we provide an employee who has been discharged as part of a “group” termination at least 45 days to consider the terms of a release waiving his or her rights under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. How many employees constitute a group? …

Labor pains: The perils of the Employee Free Choice Act

03/01/2008
As the 2008 election cycle intensifies, organized labor is devoting substantial resources to support candidates who will advance its ambitious legislative agenda in 2009. That agenda includes passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). Employers must understand what EFCA passage would mean and what they can do now to ensure that union organizers do not target their employees …