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Pennsylvania

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire … or, in some cases, no hire

12/22/2010
Many employers are deciding not to hire smokers, and still more are trying to limit employees’ use of tobacco. Companies are screening new hires for nicotine as a condition for employment, imposing higher health-benefit premiums for smokers and trying to help smokers quit. Policies run the gamut:

Harassment in Conshohocken leads to $66,000 EEOC settlement

12/21/2010
Telecommunications giant One Communications Corp. has settled an EEOC religious discrimination and harassment suit filed by three Jewish employees at its Conshohocken office.

Pennsylvania’s business climate rated largely favorable

12/21/2010

Pennsylvania has the third-best business climate north of the Mason-Dixon Line and the 12th best in the nation, according to Site Selection magazine. Only Ohio and Indiana ranked higher among Northern states.

With good reason, it’s OK to fire upon return from FMLA

12/21/2010
Don’t be afraid to terminate employees who have just returned from FMLA leave—as long as you have good reasons that are unrelated to the FMLA.

Temp better than employee? Terminate with care

12/21/2010
Sometimes, work actually goes better when a temp replaces an employee who’s out on leave. You might even think about keeping the temp and dumping the incumbent. Watch out!

Feel free to punish boorish misconduct, even if employee blames it on disability

12/21/2010

Disabled employees sometimes think they can use their medical conditions to get away with misbehavior. That’s not true. Employers can and should punish behavior that is disruptive, wrong or breaks company rules, even if that behavior may be tangentially related to a disability of some sort.

When reorg will cut older worker’s position, consider offering reassignment to other jobs

12/21/2010
Be prepared to be creative when business necessity forces changes that will eliminate a position held by an older employee. When that’s the case, consider offering the older employee alternative positions. If she declines to take comparable jobs, document it. That refusal will make it next to impossible for her to win an age discrimination lawsuit.

2010 was record year for EEOC discrimination complaints

12/21/2010
The EEOC received nearly 100,000 complaints of discrimination in federal fiscal year 2010 that ended Sept. 30, 2010. The total of 99,922 topped the previous high of 95,402 in FY 2008 and represented a 7% increase over FY 2009’s figure of 93,277.

PDA doesn’t guarantee leave for child care

12/21/2010

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act protects women against discrimination because they’re about to have a baby. But the PDA doesn’t grant any special, additional rights to time off for child care. Unless the mother has FMLA or other leave available, there’s no requirement for an employer to accommodate her child care needs.

2 Bensalem facilities closed after labor talks break down

12/13/2010

Express Scripts will close a second Bensalem facility on Feb. 1 following a union rejection of the company’s final contract offer to employees at the mail order pharmacy. Added to a Dec. 16 closing of another prescription-processing plant in Bensalem, the second shutdown means Express Scripts has shed 992 jobs in Pennsylvania.