• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly
Connection failed: SQLSTATE[HY000] [2002] No such file or directory

Pennsylvania

2008 collapse drops $500,000 in fines on mine operator

11/25/2009

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration has issued five citations to UAE Coalcorp Associates following its investigation of a fatal 2008 mine roof collapse at Harmony Mine in Northumberland County.

Employers cut absent workers a little slack this year

11/25/2009

According to an online survey conducted by CareerBuilder.com, employers are not firing workers quite as often for faking illness to get a day off: 15% of employers fired workers this year because they faked an illness, down from 18% in 2008. It appears fewer employers have the time to check up on absent workers. So why are workers absent when they aren’t sick?

Can termination be a family affair?

11/25/2009

Q. We may soon terminate an employee whose daughter also works here. We’re uncomfortable with her daughter remaining as an employee. Can we legally fire the daughter, as well?

Can we ask about an applicant’s HIV status?

11/25/2009

Q. Is it legal to ask medical questions of applicants—specifically, if they have HIV? Does the law allow any legal exceptions to ask this question of people applying for food-handling positions?

Are we on the hook for seasonal employees’ unemployment compensation claims?

11/25/2009

Q. If our company hires seasonal employees for the holidays and then releases them after the Christmas rush, will we be responsible for any unemployment insurance claims as the workers’ last employer?

OK to label attendance an essential function

11/24/2009

It seems logical—employees who can’t come to work won’t be able to perform the essential functions of their jobs. It may be possible to accommodate some disabled employees by letting them work from home, but that’s not true of most jobs.

Calm is key when handling chronic complainers

11/24/2009

Some employees are natural complainers. They can and will find something to gripe about, no matter what. If one of your employees fits that mold and files incessant EEOC or internal complaints, how you handle those can mean the difference between a mildly annoying pain in the neck and a lost lawsuit. How? Chances are, chronic complainers won’t be able to make a solid case that they’ve suffered discrimination. But if you decide to punish her, she may have a retaliation lawsuit.

Your ‘good faith’ goes a long way toward fair religious accommodations

11/24/2009

As the workforce grows more diverse, so do the religious practices that employers may be asked to accommodate.
Consider a policy that clearly sets out how to request time off for religious practices, and establish a mechanism for deciding who gets priority. It may not be possible for everyone to get their desired time off, but as long as you don’t discriminate against a particular religion, reasonable limits are likely to stand up in court.

Firing a long-time employee? Good documentation beats age bias claim

11/24/2009

Employees who have worked for their employers for decades often assume that if they are fired, it must be because of their advancing age. Then they sue, alleging age discrimination. Because they have been employed for so long, they usually don’t have any trouble showing that they were qualified for their job. That puts the burden on employers to prove they had a sound reason for the termination.

HR on Capitol Hill: Specter flips on same-sex marriage

11/23/2009

Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania’s senior senator, switched parties from Republican to Democrat in April, and now he’s changed his mind about the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). His support for pending legislation to repeal DOMA, which limits federal government recognition of same-sex marriage, could be crucial—and could affect HR.