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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.

Act ASAP to end sexually hostile environment

07/26/2011

It doesn’t take much for a work environment to become hostile enough to prompt an employee’s sexual harassment lawsuit. And if many incidents occur over time—or even if a handful of offenses are severe enough—the employee may have a winning case. That’s why you must act fast upon the first reported incident to stop further problems.

Hospital executive pleads guilty to embezzlement charges

06/24/2011

The former executive vice president of the Children’s Hospital of Phila­del­phia has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a 12-year plot to embezzle $1.7 million from the hospital. Roosevelt Hairston Jr. was relieved of his duties in February after hospital auditors found irregularities.

York County official claims hard times led her to steal

06/24/2011
York County Assistant Chief Clerk Vickie Gladfelter has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $347,000 in county funds. She was sentenced to one to five years in state prison. Glad­­felter confessed to a seven-year scheme involving selling used county cell phones and pocketing postal refunds.

When planning layoff, use objective factors

06/24/2011
When deciding who should get the ax during cost-cutting reductions in force, use as many objective factors as possible. For example, use performance measures that include specific achieve­­­ments and rankings based on those achievements.

How can we recoup money we overpaid worker?

06/23/2011
Q. We pay most of our employees’ wages and salaries via direct deposit. Last week, two checks for the same pay period were deposited into an employee’s account. Can we legally have the bank withdraw the extra funds from the employee’s account?

Do we have to pay for nonexempt’s travel time for one-day out-of-town trips?

06/23/2011
Q. One of our executives will be making day trips once a week to Boston from Philadelphia for a special assignment. Do we have to compensate the secretary (she is nonexempt) for her travel time to and from Boston?

When hiring, what shouldn’t we ask?

06/23/2011
Q. Are there any questions we cannot or should not ask a reference when screening applicants?

Intoxicated and driving during working hours: How should our policy address this problem?

06/23/2011
Q. When an employee was recently injured on the job, a co-worker drove him to the hospital. On the way back to work, they were in a car accident and both employees tested positive for illegal substances. What should we consider when developing a policy to prevent this kind of thing from occurring in the future?

Must we comply with subpoena for worker’s file?

06/23/2011
Q. We recently received a subpoena to produce the contents of an employee’s personnel file in connection with a federal lawsuit. The employee is a party to the lawsuit, but the company is not. Do we have to comply with the subpoena? Should we tell the employee about the subpoena?

Check your hiring practices! EEOC takes aim at systemic bias

06/23/2011
As its workload has increased, the EEOC has sought greater funding so it can pursue cases in which employer hiring practices discriminate broadly against members of protected classes. Those practices include using criminal background checks and credit-history checks to screen applicants.