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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.

Hershey extracts union concessions for new plant

06/24/2010
When the Hershey Co. decided to stop making chocolate at its 106-year-old factory in the heart of Hershey, the company faced the choice: Move all 1,500 jobs to other states, or cut about one-third of those positions and move the remaining workforce three miles to a more modern plant. Hershey asked the Chocolate Workers Union Local 464 to accept a seven-year contract that sacrificed some jobs while boosting pay for remaining workers.

Hiring contractors? Let them work for others, too

06/24/2010
If you use independent contractors, make sure they have the freedom to work for other clients and largely set their own schedules. Those criteria are important for determining whether someone is eligible for unemployment.

After FMLA, OK to reassign worker who can’t do old job

06/24/2010

An employee who takes FMLA leave is entitled to return to her old job or an equivalent one when she’s ready to return to work. But what if the employee can’t perform her old job, perhaps because of lingering health problems? Reassign her.

Set up standard process for responding to accommodations requests–and use it every time

06/24/2010
One of the quickest roads to the courthouse is to ignore or brush off a disabled employee’s request for accommodations. At least investigate the possibilities before denying a request.

Lawsuit-proof your HR operations: Document business reason for every decision

06/24/2010

It’s difficult to predict which employee will be the next to sue. That’s why your best defense is to treat every major employment-related decision as a potential lawsuit. How? Back it up with a solid, business-related justification.

Follow all leads when investigating allegations–even if they take query in new direction

06/11/2010

Investigations of workplace wrongdoing sometimes take unexpected turns. Don’t hesitate to keep digging, no matter where the evidence leads. You may discover that the employee who complained in the first place hasn’t been as innocent as he claims. If it turns out that an apparent victim has actually done something wrong, you can take disciplinary action.

Cut no slack just because employee won award

05/27/2010
Sometimes, good employees go bad. Quite often, employers that suddenly have to terminate an employee who had been doing a great job find themselves on the losing end of a discrimination lawsuit. There’s one way to show bias played no part in the decision: Document the employee’s unacceptable behavior.

Disabled worker seem OK with ribbing? Beware!

05/27/2010

It’s sad but true: Disabled people are sometimes the butt of jokes at work. Whether the disability is obvious or the disabled employee lets co-workers know about his condition, you can expect somebody to say something inappropriate. Of course, some comments might be good-natured teasing. That doesn’t mean you should tolerate it.

How liable are we for an employee’s accident that occurred while he was on the phone?

05/26/2010
Q. One of our managers was talking on his company cell phone while driving when he struck and injured a pedestrian. Can the pedestrian sue the company?

Is it OK to ask about race?

05/26/2010
Q. We have all new employees fill out a data sheet. Is it OK to ask them to reveal their race on this form?