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Employment Law

Supreme Court backs employers in Title VII cases

07/09/2013
With two rulings on June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court handed major victories to employers, limiting liability for supervisory discrimination and setting a higher bar for employees who file retaliation lawsuits. Both decisions clarify long-standing Title VII questions. Both mean employers are less likely to lose potentially costly lawsuits.

Don’t worry a somewhat negative performance review will cost you a lawsuit

07/09/2013
Here’s one less thing to worry about when preparing performance reviews: Employees can’t use a poor review as an excuse to sue unless they can show it affected their job in some significant way, such as making the employee ineligible for a pro­­motion.

Never blame an employees’ work deficiencies on her pregnancy

07/09/2013
Here’s an important tip to pass on to all supervisors: Never speculate on why an employee may be performing poorly. Focus on the work itself, and leave the diagnosis and psychoanalysis to the experts. That’s especially true when you think an employee’s work may be affected by pregnancy or pregnancy-related complications.

Is body odor a real disability?

07/07/2013
Q. Several employees have requested that we talk to another employee who, frankly, smells bad. I know she has medical problems. Can we ask her to do something about the odor or would that be discrimination based on disability?

FMLA: How can we be sure employee must care for her grandchild?

07/05/2013
Q. One of our employees just took emergency custody of her grandchild after her son and daughter-in-law were arrested for child abuse. She now wants to take FMLA leave to get the child settled in and have family counseling. What kind of proof must we accept that she really has legal custody?

Is it legally risky to use facial recognition software?

07/05/2013
Q. Management wants to install “facial recognition” software that clocks in employees by electronically matching the employee’s face to a database. Leaving aside the Big Brother creepiness, are there any legal land mines we should consider before installing this type of technology?

What should we do? Our summer intern is suddenly demanding back pay?

07/05/2013
Q. We hired an intern for the summer. She was eager to work for free to add it to her résumé … We told her that after this week we won’t need her. That’s when she said we owe her minimum wage or she’ll complain to the Department of Labor. Do we really have to pay her?

How to reduce wage-and-hour lawsuit risks (and defend yourself if sued)

07/05/2013
During a recent 12-month period, more than 7,750 wage-and-hour lawsuits were filed in federal courts, an increase of almost 10% over the preceding 12 months. Pennsylvania once again ranked among the top 10 states for such new lawsuits. The good news: There are ways for employers to reduce the risk of wage-and-hour suits, and strengthen their defenses if one is filed.

Anti-gay bias ban gains support in General Assembly

07/05/2013
A bill to provide protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual em­­ployees has picked up some surprising support in the General Assembly. The bill, which was introduced with 102 co-sponsors, would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression in employment, housing, credit and public accommodations.

Retailer Wet Seal settles race bias suit for $7.5 million

07/05/2013
Women’s clothing retailer Wet Seal has agreed to settle a class-action race discrimination suit for $7.5 million. Out of those funds, $5.58 million will go to compensate 1,600 current and former black managers for lost pay and promotions, termination and emotional distress.