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Pennsylvania

Employment Lawyer Network:
Pennsylvania

Susan K. Lessack (Editor)

Pepper Hamilton LLP
Pennsylvania Employment Law

LessackS@PepperLaw.com
(610) 640-7806

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Susan K. Lessack is a partner in the Berwyn and Philadelphia offices of Pepper Hamilton LLP. She concentrates her practice in employment counseling and employment litigation. Ms. Lessack’s experience includes counseling employers on matters related to compliance with federal and state labor and employment laws, counseling regarding employee discipline and terminations, conducting investigations of employee conduct, including harassment, training employers on their obligations under employment laws and litigation avoidance, and developing employment policies. She defends employers in litigation of employment discrimination claims, wrongful discharge claims, and claims under federal and state employment-related statutes, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law.

Fired after using FMLA leave? Expect lawsuit

12/06/2018
Firing an employee while referencing use of FMLA leave may trigger a retaliation lawsuit.

Club wanted ‘younger direction,’ gets court instead

12/06/2018
Llanerch Country Club in Havertown, Pennsylvania, faces an EEOC lawsuit after it laid off a 59-year-old groundskeeper, allegedly replacing him with younger workers.

How to legally limit recording devices in the workplace

11/06/2018
Be it a smartphone, tablet or laptop, cameras and voice recording systems are everywhere. Employers can take concrete steps to limit how much of the technology is allowed in the workplace. But those policies may violate state and federal laws if not carefully crafted.

Fifth EEOC complaint filed against Bryn Mawr Trust

11/06/2018
A woman who worked at Bryn Mawr Trust in Pennsylvania was fired shortly after corroborating a co-worker’s account during an investigation into race and sex discrimination charges at the bank, according to a complaint filed with the EEOC.

Film crew: Mob flick maker stiffed us for $200K

11/06/2018
The crew that worked on the movie “Made in Chinatown,” filmed in Philadelphia last summer, want their money and they have filed a lawsuit to get it.

Punishment for ending affair creates liability

11/06/2018
A consensual sexual affair may not mean automatic liability for sexual harassment or sex discrimination, but punishing an employee for ending an affair does.

Merely offering severance package doesn’t constitute admission of employer wrongdoing

11/06/2018
It’s often tempting to offer a severance package in exchange for the promise not to sue over alleged discrimination. But some workers may see that offer as an admission of sorts that the employer believes it needs to pre-emptively cut liability.

Document time of performance problems in case employee registers bogus complaints

11/06/2018
Employees who face discipline sometimes fight back with their own discrimination complaints. Terminating such an employee shortly afterward can look suspiciously like the complaint precipitated the discipline. The best way to prevent that impression is to carefully document the reasons for the disciplinary meeting in the first place.

Minor workplace changes aren’t enough to justify lawsuit alleging bias or retaliation

11/06/2018
Courts don’t want to micromanage your business. Make sure you can explain workplace changes in the context of legitimate business needs.

Fired employee sues? Consider counter-claim

11/06/2018
If you have good records showing exactly how you decided to terminate and can explain why you terminated an employee without stating the underlying reasons, you may be able to bring that up if she sues.