• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Employment Law

Read EEOC and PHRC complaints carefully to avoid surprise lawsuits later

10/01/2007

Employees are supposed to file EEOC and Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) complaints that fully explain the discrimination claims they’re making. The idea is to let employers know early on what the complaint is all about so that the case can be settled or sent on to court. But courts are lenient, sometimes bending over backward to allow a late claim based on general language in the EEOC or PHRC complaint …

PHRA and Title VII: No delays allowed when investigating sexual harassment

10/01/2007

Pennsylvania employers beware: The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA) and Title VII require immediate action as soon as you learn about possible sexual harassment by a supervisor. That’s true even if the victim doesn’t come forward. If you wait until she complains, it may be too late …

PA Whistleblower Law imposes high standard for complaints

10/01/2007

A director of nursing for the John J. Kane Regional Center, an Allegheny County long-term care facility in Glen Hazel, sued the county, alleging she was fired for reporting unsafe conditions to authorities after a resident drowned in a bathtub in June 2005 …

ADEA verdict flies after Boeing’s job offer falls flat

10/01/2007

A former procurement-quality specialist for Boeing Company in Philadelphia does not have to accept reinstatement in lieu of front pay awarded by a jury in an age-discrimination suit, the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, has ruled …

Do your policies violate the NLRA? You might be surprised

10/01/2007

Employers beware! Do your personnel policies—or how you enforce them—violate the National Labor Relations Act? The answer may surprise you, especially if you operate in a union-free environment. Earlier this year, the National Labor Relations Board heard oral arguments in a case that will determine whether employees have the right to use their company’s e-mail system, or other communications-based systems, to communicate with each other regarding union matters and terms and conditions of employment …

How can employers get waivers of claims from terminated employees?

10/01/2007

Q. May an employer fire an employee and then ask the employee to sign a waiver of claims or severance agreement? …

Attendance discipline needs care if employee qualifies for FMLA leave

10/01/2007

Q. An employee of ours has attendance problems. Before we could counsel her on the attendance problems, she was approved for intermittent FMLA to care for her elderly mother. While she has taken FMLA days for her mother, she also continues to have attendance problems unrelated to her FMLA leave. Can we proceed with counseling and possible disciplinary actions while she is under FMLA? …

Under what circumstances can an employee challenge a termination?

10/01/2007

Q. If an employee believes he has been terminated unfairly, does he have a legal right to challenge the termination? …

If new job stinks, requested transfer can be retaliation

10/01/2007

When an employee requests a transfer after complaining about alleged harassment, don’t jump at the opportunity—only to place him in an unpleasant new environment. Merely honoring a request to be moved isn’t a defense against a retaliation claim. That’s true even if you provide the same pay and don’t change benefits, seniority or any other aspect of the employment relationship …

Don’t rely on broad diagnosis: Assess disability individually

10/01/2007

Millions of Americans have diabetes, and millions more have it but don’t know it. But with new medications and careful diet, most diabetics can control their condition and lead largely normal lives. That has implications for how employers handle their ADA obligations …