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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

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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.

How can we prevent a workers’ comp claim from an older, accident-prone employee?

09/30/2015
Q. One of our employees is over age 70 and has had a broken foot, memory problems and a recent car wreck that caused some residual problems. Should we allow him to work? What can we do to protect ourselves from potential workers’ comp claims should he injure himself?

Prepare for more whistle-blower retaliation complaints

09/30/2015
Heed OSHA’s memo stressing that it only needs “reasonable cause” to find merit in one.

Jury awards $550k to porn-viewing sheriffs

09/30/2015
Two Northumberland County sheriffs who were fired for using department computers to watch porn will split $550,000 after a jury ruled the county violated their rights.

Should have foreseen psychic reading trouble at the VA

09/30/2015
Following an investigation by the Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general, two high-ranking managers at the VA’s troubled pension management center in Germantown have been suspended for getting too friendly with some employees.

No call is willful misconduct, means no unemployment

09/30/2015
When an employee is fired for failing to follow call-off procedures when sick, he may lose unemployment benefits. That’s because violating the rules constitutes willful misconduct.

No magic words needed to ask for ADA accommodations

09/30/2015
Disabled employees who want reasonable accommodations don’t have to specifically use those words.

Negative comments about FMLA use? Call your lawyer because you will be sued

09/30/2015
Now is a good time to remind supervisors that making negative comments about FMLA usage can end in litigation. That’s because telling employees that taking time off makes it hard for co-workers who have to pick up the slack can chill further use of FMLA leave, discouraging employees from using time off they are legally entitled to.

Sure it seems obvious, but …. don’t declare sexual harassment part of the job

09/30/2015
Here’s a recent case that should make it clear to employers that it’s their responsibility to make sure employees aren’t sexually harassed. Simply put, you can’t tell someone going into an all-male environment that sexual harassment just happens and is the price for breaking down gender barriers.

Track who hired and promoted disabled worker

09/30/2015

It’s hard to convince a judge or jury that the same person who hired someone knowing his protected status would later turn around and fire that employee because of that very protected status. That’s one reason you should keep careful track of which manager recommended hiring someone who is obviously a member of a protected class—such as an employee who is disabled because of a missing limb.

At-will status won’t stop bias lawsuit

09/30/2015

It doesn’t take much for an employee who has been terminated to take a discrimination claim to court. For example, all a woman has to allege is that she is a member of a protected class (female), was qualified for her job, was discharged and was replaced by someone who is not a member of her protected class—that is, that a man replaced her. It’s then up to the employer to prove it had a legitimate, unrelated reason for the termination. It can’t rely strictly on her status as at-will.