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Pennsylvania

Hershey hit with protests by immigrant temp workers

08/23/2011
The students thought they were signing up for a cultural exchange program in which they would travel to Pennsylvania to work and experience life in Hershey. Instead they ended up working in warehouses preparing Hershey products for shipping. Along with members of the AFL-CIO, they recently protested outside the warehouse facilities.

Common sense prevails: Simply belonging to protected class doesn’t justify bias lawsuit

08/23/2011
Good news if you have ever worried about a lawsuit from an employee who was passed over for a promotion in favor of someone outside the employee’s protected class. While it’s impossible to guarantee you will never be sued, courts generally look favorably on properly run, fair hiring and promotion processes.

That’s not a contract! Feel free to make hiring contingent on passing background check

08/23/2011

It’s common to tell a job applicant he’s hired—as long as a background check doesn’t reveal anything that would disqualify him. But some applicants think such an offer creates a contractual relationship. Under most circumstances, it doesn’t.

Is that employee really disabled? Making the ADA call requires careful analysis

08/23/2011
Just because an employee takes FMLA leave to deal with a serious health condition doesn’t mean he’s disabled under the ADA—and therefore entitled to reasonable accommodations when he returns to work. Before jumping to the conclusion that a returning employee is entitled to whatever accommodation he requests, ask yourself whether he is, in fact, disabled. What counts is his condition at the time he requests the accommodation.

Experience isn’t the only valid job qualification

08/23/2011

The job candidate with the most experience might also be the oldest applicant. But that doesn’t mean you always have to pick him. You can use other factors as long as none of them hints at age discrimination. The key is to maintain impeccable records showing how and why you chose the candidate you did.

When can we fire for offensive body odor?

08/01/2011
Q. We have a staff member with body odor so bad that other staff members have complained and even threatened to leave the company. The employee has been disciplined several times and required to go home without pay until she agrees to comply with our grooming code. At what point can we legally terminate her?

What should we do? We suspect string of workplace injuries might be workers’ comp fraud

08/01/2011
Q. We’ve had an exceptional number of suspicious injuries at work so far this year. We don’t want to jump to conclusions, but how can we determine if these injuries are part of a workers’ comp insurance fraud scheme?

Must we make employees available to EEOC investigators?

08/01/2011
Q. A former employee recently filed an EEOC complaint against our company alleging race discrimination. As part of its investigation, the agency will be coming to our offices to interview employees. Do I have to make the employees available? As the HR director, should I sit in on the employee interviews?

White teachers file bias suit against Philly schools

07/27/2011
Thomas Mifflin Elementary School in Philadelphia has been roiled by news of a lawsuit filed by four white teachers who claim they are victims of race discrimination.

Should we log independent contractors’ hours?

07/26/2011
Q. Does asking independent contractors to complete a time sheet jeopardize their contractor status?