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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.

Critical lawyer can’t get unemployment benefits

09/26/2014
A former lawyer in the Delaware County Public Defender’s Office who considered himself a zealous legal advocate has lost his appeal for unemployment compensation in Commonwealth Court.

Even courts can wind up in the EEOC’s cross hairs

09/26/2014
The Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas faces an EEOC age dis­crimination lawsuit after it dismissed a 70-year-old employee.

Boss’s stupid sexist comment may spur lawsuit

09/26/2014
Even a single comment can be enough to keep a sex discrimination case going—especially if the commentator happens to be a supervisor with firing authority.

Warn supervisors against comments on military service

09/26/2014
Here’s something to include in supervisory training sessions: Warn that negative comments about military service may put the employer on the defensive in the event the employee is terminated.

Contesting unemployment benefits? Choose reason for denial and stick with it

09/26/2014
If you are going to oppose a former employee’s unemployment compensation application, determine what reasons you will present and stick to them. If you offer alternative reasons during the appeal process, chances increase that the court will allow the benefits.

Inpatient treatment for alcoholism enough to prove disability to court

09/26/2014
Workers alleging disability discrimination generally have to show that they have a condition that substantially limits a major life function. But they don’t necessarily have to drag a doctor into court. They can prove a condition such as alcoholism by showing that they underwent inpatient treatment and suffered withdrawal symptoms while there.

Want to gauge readiness to return to work? Provide list of essential job functions

09/26/2014

Employees who take protected FMLA leave are only entitled to return to their jobs after leave if they are cleared to perform that job. Employers that want a specific fitness-for-duty certification must ask for more than just the certification. They also have to provide the employee with a list of the job’s essential functions for the doctor to use when assessing fitness for duty.

Complaining about unfairness isn’t protected

09/26/2014
Life can be unfair. When an em­­ployee complains about unfairness at work, make sure you document the complaint and make some notes on exactly what she said. If you can show she never mentioned sex, race, age or some other protected characteristic as the underlying reason for the “unfair” treatment she complained about, she hasn’t engaged in “protected activity” and can’t bring a retaliation claim against her employer.

When unpaid ‘gap time’ doesn’t violate FLSA

09/26/2014
With collective-action wage-and-hour claims on the rise, employers worry that they may be burned by unpaid work they didn’t even know employees were performing. But a recent appeals court decision provides a rare piece of good news: As long as employees haven’t worked more than 40 hours in any given workweek, so-called “gap time” between hours paid and hours worked doesn’t always mean liability.

Feds: Harrisburg leasing firms dodged payroll taxes

09/05/2014
A federal grand jury has indicted three Harrisburg area men on tax evasion charges stemming from their operation of several worker leasing businesses. The U.S. Attorney alleges that the three men paid workers more than $7 million in wages from 2006 to 2012 but never withheld or paid federal income taxes.