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Pennsylvania

Courts impatient with workers who act as their own lawyers

09/28/2011

Employees who can’t find an attorney to represent them when they sue their employers sometimes decide to represent themselves. This makes for more work for the courts. But judges are beginning to lose pa­­tience.

Zero-tolerance drug policy? Make sure you uniformly apply it to all

09/28/2011
Do you have a zero-tolerance rule against employees who use or possess illegal drugs at work? If you don’t apply it to all employees who break the rule, you will be sued.

Conduct truly independent investigations to ferret out retaliation by rogue supervisors

09/28/2011
Employers are liable for the discrimination perpetuated by supervisors unless they can show that, before accepting a supervisor’s termination recommendation, they conducted an independent investigation. Employers that don’t conduct a truly independent investigation—including allowing the subordinate to present his version of events—can still be liable.

Are there perils in giving a pay raise in hopes of boosting employee performance?

09/02/2011
Q. About four months ago, we gave a pay raise to a marginal employee who is pregnant, in hopes that it would improve her job performance by boosting her morale. Unfortunately, her performance has gone from bad to worse. If we fire her for poor performance, can she successfully argue that the recent raise indicates that she was performing well and that our reason for terminating her was discriminatory?

How far must we go to deliver a final paycheck to a former employee?

08/23/2011
Q. Over the past six months, we have made several attempts to mail a former employee her last paycheck by certified mail. We believe we have the correct address because we mailed her other items by regular mail during this period and none has been returned. What legal obligations do we have, if any, to get this check to her?

How Dodd-Frank’s whistle-blower rules put you in the crosshairs

08/23/2011
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Pro­te­ction Act, passed in the wake of the financial crisis, enacts significant reforms to the financial system. HR professionals need to become familiar with the law’s whistle-blower and anti-retaliation provisions.

Philly airport Legal Sea Foods wraps up odd pay policy

08/23/2011
Sometimes unique workplace situations lead to creative solutions, but those solutions aren’t always, well, legal. Legal Sea Foods’ location at the Philadelphia International Airport has two positions that apparently exist nowhere else in the chain: silverware rollers.

Always have witness to entire termination process

08/23/2011
To avoid needless litigation, make sure someone else sits in on termination meetings.

Document firing decision at the time you make it

08/23/2011
Make sure you document exactly when and why you decided to terminate an employee, even if you must wait until later to tell the employee.

No more bonuses just for showing up on time

08/23/2011
The South Jersey Port Corporation, which operates shipping terminals on the Delaware River near Philadelphia, has heeded New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s call for fiscal austerity by taking a heretofore unusual step: It will no longer pay bonuses for not being late.