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Pennsylvania

Somerset prison guard union talks headed to arbitration

03/29/2011
Forty Somerset County prison guards will continue to work under the terms of a contract that expired at the end of 2010 while they and the county take contract negotiations to arbitration. The county has asked the guards to accept concessions on either wages or health benefits.

Franklin County EMS head sues for bias, FMLA retaliation

03/29/2011
The former acting head of Franklin County’s emergency management agency has filed federal sex discrimination and hostile work environment charges against the county, alleging her working conditions were so severe she developed a serious health condition that required medical leave.

Chestnut Hill College fires professor-priest for being gay

03/29/2011

It seems administrators at Philadelphia’s Chestnut Hill College didn’t know one of their employees as well as they thought they did. The Rev. James St. George had been teaching Bible studies, theology and justice courses at the Catholic college since 2009. When St. George wrote in a blog posting that he is gay, the college fired him.

Be sure documentation clearly shows rule breaking

03/29/2011
Employees who are terminated often look for some underlying, illegal reason and sue. Smart employers focus on documenting clear rule violations that justify termination decisions.

Remind bosses: No negative talk about working moms

03/29/2011
When a young mother begins missing work, a manager may think she isn’t taking her career seriously enough. Expressing that sentiment may provoke your employee to sue.

Document why you fired worker, even in cases where rationale seems crystal clear

03/29/2011

Often, you have to fire employees for reasons that seem painfully obvious. Don’t let that stop you from carefully documenting the decision. The fact is, you never know which employee will sue or what she will claim.

Be patient if worker alleges minor harassment

03/29/2011

Employers have an obligation to prevent sexual harassment and to end it when it does occur. But many times, what a thin-skinned employee considers harassment isn’t actually serious enough to rise to that level. When that happens, smart employers exercise patience. They understand the very real danger of winning a sexual harassment case but losing the retaliation case that follows.

Reprimand by itself isn’t an adverse action

03/29/2011

To sue for employment discrimination, employees have to show some sort of adverse action—e.g., discharge, demotion, a pay cut or a transfer to a less desirable or less prestigious position. Merely being criticized or having a reprimand placed in a personnel folder isn’t enough to support a lawsuit.

Consider all options: When co-worker harasses, termination isn’t the only way to avoid liability

03/25/2011

The key to handling any kind of harassment case involving co-workers is to immediately investigate the allegations and follow up with solutions designed to stop the mis­behavior. But those solutions don’t always have to include terminating the har­assing co-worker. Suspensions, training and other remedial actions may be enough …

Supreme Court: Check boss bias before disciplining

03/08/2011
The Supreme Court’s latest unanimous employment-law opinion found that two biased supervisors conspired to get HR to fire someone. The lesson is clear: HR must independently check supervisors’ disciplinary recommendations to ensure they have no ulterior motives.