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Pennsylvania

Carefully craft an escape clause in all job contracts

11/01/2006

If you use employment contracts for independent contractors or senior-level managers, make sure those contracts contain enough "wiggle room" to terminate for cause based on your subjective performance assessment …

Survive a PHRC probe only with precise documentation

11/01/2006

Conventional wisdom holds that employers won’t face strict scrutiny if they fire employees who aren’t meeting performance expectations during their probationary period. Conventional wisdom is wrong, at least when it comes to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission …

EEOC pursues full day of rest as a religious accommodation

11/01/2006

The EEOC filed a religious discrimination lawsuit last month against the Aldi supermarket chain after the two parties failed to reach a settlement …

Employer-Provided Health Coverage Declines in Pennsylvania

11/01/2006

The number of Pennsylvania employees under age 65 who are covered by an employer-sponsored health insurance plan declined by 5.1 percent between 1999 and 2005. In the same years, employer-provided coverage for families with children under age 18 declined by 8 percent …

Independence Blue Cross plans changes to drug program

11/01/2006

Philadelphia-based Independence Blue Cross plans to unveil its new prescription plan provided through Future Scripts. The pharmacy benefits management company will administer Independence Blue Cross prescription benefit plans …

PNC’s policies for mothers earn a mix of praise and scorn

11/01/2006

Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services Group was cited twice last month: First by Working Mother magazine as one of the top 100 places for women to work, and then by the EEOC as a place where pregnancy discrimination is rife …

Requiring work during breaks: a $78 million mistake

11/01/2006

A Pennsylvania jury last month awarded a group of present and former Wal-Mart employees $78 million in damages because the mega-retailer forced the employees to work without pay …

You can fire managers who ignore harassment complaints

11/01/2006

The best harassment policy in the world isn’t worth the paper it’s written on if employees don’t take it seriously. To show your policy has teeth, you have to let it bite …

Check workers’ EEOC, PHRC claims for errors

11/01/2006

If you receive an EEOC or PHRC complaint, don’t jump the gun to answer the charges. Carefully inspect the documents. If you don’t question obvious problems now, such as lack of a verified signature, you lose the right to raise that issue later …

Staff who quit over benefit changes can earn unemployment

10/01/2006

Before making big changes to your benefit plans, calculate the cost savings against the possible cost of paying your share of unemployment compensation for employees who quit in protest over those benefit changes …