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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

Click for Full Bio

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.

Is it legal to dock pay for break tardiness?

05/26/2010
Q. We give employees the choice of using two 10-minute breaks each day or combining them into one 20-minute lunch break. The employees are required to punch out and in for these breaks. We also have a policy that docks employees 15 minutes if they’re four or more minutes late returning from a break. Is this legal?

Should we publicly post vacation schedules?

05/26/2010
Q. We post employees’ vacation schedules in the employee lunchroom. Occasionally, outside visitors or customers visit the lunchroom, too. Some employees have complained about this posting policy, saying it borders on invasion of privacy. Are they right,  from a legal standpoint, and should we stop doing this?

It cuts both ways: Men as sexual harassment victims

05/26/2010

Sexual harassment is often a product of the power and control the harasser wields over the victim because of his or her relative position in the company, regardless of gender. But juries that might quickly side with a female victim sometimes find it difficult to sympathize with a man who has been harmed by harassment. That’s no excuse for employers to take lightly the sexual harassment of men.

Lafayette pays $1 million to settle harassment charges

05/26/2010

Easton-based Lafayette College will pay five women $1 million to settle sexual harassment charges against a supervisor in the public safety division. According to an EEOC complaint, the supervisor repeatedly made lewd gestures and remarks, e-mailed pornography, groped female employees and even forcibly kissed them.

‘Jon & Kate Plus 8’ didn’t violate child labor laws

05/26/2010
“Jon & Kate Plus 8” fans can relax. Officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry revealed they investigated the reality show for alleged child labor violations, but found none. The revelation came during a hearing on the state’s child labor laws. But the show did not escape state scrutiny without problems.

Former IT chief accuses BabyAge.com of religious bias

05/26/2010

Shlomo Hecht, former chief technology officer for BabyAge.com in Wilkes-Barre, is suing the web-based business for religious discrimination. Hecht, who is Jewish, claims BabyAge.com’s CEO Jack Kiefer frequently made disparaging remarks about Jews and told Hecht that he did not want a “Jew Boy Club” in the office.

Ban former employee from premises; it’s not retaliation

05/26/2010
How do you handle a former employee who wants to come onto the premises and speak with other employees about her pending lawsuit? You can ban her.

Waste elimination problems may be ADA disability

05/26/2010
Employees may be disabled under the ADA if surgery or another medical condition forces them to use the bathroom frequently. The condition affects a major life activity—elimination of wastes.

Don’t rely on software alone to determine employee’s FMLA eligibility

05/26/2010

Many employers use software to track FMLA eligibility. Most of the time that works fine. But if you decide to terminate an employee because the software told you she wasn’t eligible for FMLA leave, double-check the calculation first. If you confirm she hasn’t worked a total of 52 weeks, you can terminate her.

Do pregnant employees require special treatment? (And 20 other tough pregnancy-related questions)

05/25/2010

Pregnant employees aren’t entitled to special treatment. Employers just have to treat them the same way they do other employees. If you don’t allow other employees to take leave or be placed in light-duty positions, then pregnant employees aren’t entitled to such privileges either.