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Pennsylvania

Track HR decisions to show discipline wasn’t harassment

05/23/2008
The best way to prevent lawsuits or to get a quick dismissal of unfounded charges is to document every employment decision carefully. You and your staff should be able to show exactly when a decision was made, who made it and what the basis for the decision was …

Promotion complaints? Consider firewall for future promotions

05/23/2008
Sometimes, employees who fail to get promoted get it into their heads that they are being discriminated against when that’s simply not the case. Make sure the manager or supervisor who handles such an employee’s next promotion request doesn’t know about the previous complaints—and therefore won’t be in a position to retaliate …

When promotions favor similar employees, prepare to justify

05/23/2008
Have many of your recent promotions gone to members of one sex or some other protected category? If so, take some time now to figure out how that happened. It’s entirely possible that what at first looks like a suspicious “coincidence” that could be misconstrued as discrimination is actually completely innocent …

Appearances do count: Check for hidden bias in terminations

05/23/2008
Before making a final decision on a reorganization or series of RIF terminations, take a close look at any characteristics the employees losing their jobs might share. A set of terminations that affects only members of a protected class is sure to attract attention …

Employee has used all FMLA leave? Assess disability status before terminating

05/23/2008
The FMLA entitles employees to up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to deal with a serious health condition. That doesn’t mean, however, that you should immediately terminate an employee who can’t return to her job right away. That could violate the ADA …

Racial harassment costs contractors $1.65 million

05/23/2008
Four construction workers will share a $1.65 million settlement for racial harassment they endured while building a Conectiv power plant on the old Beth Steel site in Bethlehem. The men said they had never been on a job site that didn’t feature racial harassment, but the harassment on this site was worse than usual …

Addicts, disgruntled workers seize substance abuse rehab centers

05/23/2008
A group of recovering addicts and disgruntled employees seized control of six Eastern Pennsylvania drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, saying administrators didn’t understand how to treat addiction and were interfering with their rehab …

Muslims object to bias in state police training

05/23/2008
The Pennsylvania chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-PA) has asked the Pennsylvania State Police to change its mandatory officer training class, “Radical Islam: A Law Enforcement Primer” to offer a more balanced view of Islam …

Cop pulls a Bonnie and Clyde

05/23/2008
Christian Torres, a New York City rookie police officer, allegedly robbed a Sovereign Bank in Muhlenberg Township on April 11, making off with $113,000. He didn’t get far …

No iPods for you! State imposes killjoy clause

05/23/2008
Five state employees who got lucky at a technology conference sponsored by Cisco Systems will have to relinquish their goodies, the state Office of Administration has said. The five won door prizes, including an iPod and $50 gift cards …