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Employment Law

Transfer won’t be considered adverse if duties don’t substantially change

06/09/2016
Want to transfer an employee to give her a fresh start after settling an informal complaint? As long as her job remains essentially the same and the position isn’t radically different, such a move probably won’t be viewed as retaliation or another instance of discrimination.

Discipline with care after FMLA leave: Build solid, performance-based case

06/09/2016
Employees can’t be held responsible for work not performed while they are out on FMLA medical leave. But that doesn’t mean employers are powerless to discipline an employee for poor performance that’s not related to the medical leave.

Harrisburg union official sentenced for wire fraud

06/03/2016
The former president of a Pennsyl­vania state employees union has been sentenced to house arrest and probation after pleading guilty to federal fraud charges.

Pharma scientists indicted for stealing trade secrets

06/03/2016
Two GlaxoSmithKline scientists, one from Pennsylvania, are among five people charged with stealing trade secrets related to an anti-cancer drug the pharmaceutical giant is developing.

Lawyer hoped for Philly, had to settle for Harrisburg

06/03/2016
Some federal courts may be perceived as more favorable to employees because of the demographic pool from which they draw jurors.

Lawler Foods to pay $1M to settle race bias charges

06/03/2016
Houston-based Lawler Foods will pay $1,042,000 to settle charges it discriminated against applicants who aren’t of Hispanic origin. Three black applicants filed discrimination charges after Lawler refused to hire them.

EEOC sues Murphy Oil for ADA violations

06/02/2016

Murphy Oil Corp., the San Antonio company that operates Murphy USA gas stations typically located in Walmart parking lots in over 20 states, violated federal law by firing a store manager because of his disability, the EEOC charges in a lawsuit filed in May.

Ensure similar infractions are similarly punished

06/02/2016
Make sure that you punish similar transgressions fairly and equally. That’s especially true for serious rules violations. A pattern of punishing one protected class more severely than another is sure to lead to litigation.

For federal employees, complaint clock starts ticking on date of adverse decision

06/02/2016
Federal employees have just 45 days after a discriminatory act or decision to file an internal complaint.

Excluding women isn’t an acceptable sexual harassment-prevention strategy

06/02/2016
Employers are obligated to provide a work environment free of sexual harassment. They can’t satisfy that responsibility by segregating the workforce by gender, even if doing so would certainly prevent harassment.