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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.

Beware making sudden changes in working conditions after employee announces pregnancy

01/25/2012
If a pregnant employee hears anything other than “Congratulations!” when she shares the news, she may get suspicious. And things will really get messy if the employee suddenly finds herself contending with schedule changes and comments indicating her pregnancy isn’t exactly welcome news.

Never automatically fire employees just because they exhaust FMLA leave

01/25/2012
Many employers wrongly assume that they can automatically terminate an employee once she used up her 12-week entitlement of FMLA leave. Such a policy could spell trouble.

Pennsylvania Human Relations Act doesn’t protect nonemployees from sexual harassment

01/25/2012

The Pennsylvania Human Rela­­tions Act makes it illegal for employers to subject employees to sexual harassment. But what if an employee harasses someone who does not work for the company? Does that make the em­­ployer liable? One court says no.

Big Pepsi settlement shows background check peril

01/25/2012
Pepsi Beverages will pay $3.1 million to resolve EEOC charges that it discriminated against minorities when it refused to hire applicants with arrest records.

Employee worked through break? You must pay

01/25/2012
Many employers automatically deduct meal period breaks from time worked to simplify wage-and-hour calculations. That’s fine, but you must make sure there is an easy way for employees who work through their meal breaks to report the additional paid time.

Can a dress code apply to just one employee?

01/05/2012
Q. Can we set a dress code policy that bars visible tattoos and multiple piercing on our receptionist but not other workers who have less public contact?

Who is responsible for temp’s claim for workers’ comp benefits?

01/05/2012
Q. We hired a temp worker through an agency while one of our employees was out on a 12-week pregnancy leave. Five weeks after she started with us, she was injured at work. Are we responsible for her workers’ comp claim, or is the temp agency responsible?

With small business closing, do I have any specific requirements for laying off workers?

01/05/2012
Q. I will soon either sell my business or close it down. Either way, I will most likely have to lay off all eight of my employees. What are the legal requirements in Pennsylvania in connection with these layoffs?

Is there anything in the law that makes it illegal to change employees’ schedules?

01/05/2012
Q. We run a small printing company and have an employee whom we want to move from the day shift to the swing shift. Although this employee has the most seniority, he has the least experience with the presses we run during the day. When we told the employee of our plans, he said that moving him would be illegal. Is he correct? We are worried that if we move him and he quits, it won’t be the last time we hear from him.

What’s a standard workweek?

01/05/2012
Q. What’s the definition of a standard workweek? One of our employees claims that overtime is defined as anything over eight hours per workday. Is he correct?