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Pennsylvania

Serial complainer? She probably can’t show retaliation

04/25/2008
Employees who file discrimination complaints can claim retaliation if they can show that their employers took actions that would dissuade reasonable employees from complaining in the first place. But employees who constantly file complaints probably won’t be able to show retaliation for all but the most egregious punishments. Here’s why …

Strict physical requirements appropriate for risky jobs

04/25/2008
Some jobs are more dangerous than others if employees can’t perform them safely. For those types of positions, you can require periodic physical exams and suspend employees found to have physical problems that could increase the likelihood of an accident. If you do so, you don’t have to worry that you’ll violate the ADA …

Make and keep interview notes to prove promotion process wasn’t discriminatory

04/25/2008
Employers that lean heavily on interviews to decide which of two equally qualified candidates to promote should make sure they can later explain the selection process. That means asking participants in panel interviews to take and collect notes on what the interviews covered and how well the candidates did …

Wrongful termination limited in Pennsylvania

04/25/2008
Pennsylvania employers can terminate most at-will employees for any or no reason as long as the firing doesn’t violate state, local or federal law. However, there is a narrow “public policy” exception that protects some at-will employees …

Can a guy mess up so bad, it turns out good?

04/25/2008
In 2000, Jeffrey Paich was hired to manage the Nike Factory Store in Mercer. A year later, Debra Sweda became Paich’s supervisor. Over the next four years, Sweda was inundated with complaints about Paich’s temper and his treatment of women …

The universal language: Good food … with Cheez Whiz, please!

04/25/2008
A Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations panel has ruled that the English-only signs greeting customers at Geno’s Steaks, the famous South Philly cheesesteak shop, do not violate the city’s Fair Practices Ordinance …

Immigration woes a lot of rot, says soon-To-Be ex-Tomato grower

04/25/2008
Fourth-generation farmer Keith Eckel, owner of Fred W. Eckel Sons Farms in Clarks Summit, has said he will no longer grow tomatoes because he can’t find enough workers to harvest them. Eckel, Pennsylvania’s largest grower of fresh-to-market tomatoes, hired mostly Mexican laborers to bring in past harvests …

Foot Locker says no foul, but pays $90,000 anyway

04/25/2008
The Foot Locker chain of athletic shoe stores will pay a former cashier $90,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit. Jeleana James filed an EEOC lawsuit alleging she was harassed and groped while working in an Upper Darby Township store …

Biased pay policies cost school district millions

04/25/2008
A federal jury has awarded $1.2 million to 12 teachers who sued the Elizabeth Forward School District in Allegheny County for age discrimination. The teachers alleged they were hired at the lowest pay scale because they were older women …

Pennsylvania will consider paid leave bills

04/25/2008
In the wake of New Jersey’s recent passage of family leave legislation, more state legislatures are considering bills that would require paid family leave. Fourteen states, including Pennsylvania, will consider mandatory paid family leave this year …