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Employment Law

Appeals court upholds state agency’s award

07/13/2018
A New York appeals court has upheld a damage award the New York State Division of Human Rights granted to three women who complained that their employer had allowed sexual harassment and retaliation for their complaints.

Calendar alert: Employees may have up to three years to sue for FMLA violations

07/13/2018
Generally, willful FMLA violations are those where it is clear the employer made little or no effort to learn what the FMLA requires or, knowing what the law requires, refused to comply. If a worker can show such disregard, he has up to three years to sue.

Employee’s disability doesn’t give him a free pass to break rules

07/13/2018
Disabled workers are entitled to reasonable accommodations so they can perform their jobs, and freedom from harassment based on their disability. Neither of those protections means disabled workers can’t be criticized or punished for workplace behavior that breaks the rules.

Not every gripe is worth an employee lawsuit

07/12/2018
Some employees think they can sue their employer anytime they believe working conditions aren’t absolutely fair and free from conflict. They’re wrong.

Not all unwanted touching is harassment

07/12/2018
Workers who sue for harassment must still provide evidence that the motivation for the touching was somehow related to sex and not just part of a pattern of nonsexual touching meted out to everyone, male, female, heterosexual or gay.

Pennsylvania DLI proposal would more than double exempt threshold

07/10/2018
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry has submitted a proposed rule to amend the regulations that exempt executive, administrative and professional salaried workers from overtime requirements under Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage Act of 1968.

Executive order bars salary inquiries for some state jobs

07/10/2018
Brandishing a plastic bag containing 79 cents, Gov. Tom Wolf announced an executive order barring most Pennsylvania government offices from asking for an applicant’s salary history during the hiring process.

Judges reserve the option to reduce some huge jury awards

07/10/2018
Winning a discrimination suit over a lost promotion can cost an employer dearly—but all is not lost simply because a jury concludes the promotion was unfairly awarded.

Public-policy exception means at-will status doesn’t always apply

07/10/2018
A federal court interpreting Pennsylvania law has concluded that firing a worker for calling in a complaint to OSHA provides protection under the public-policy exception.

No bias allowed when deciding who telecommutes

07/05/2018
About 45% of employers permit some of their employees to telecommute. If you allow staff members to work from home, make sure managers and supervisors grant the privilege fairly.