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Pennsylvania

Now what? Bad former employee wants a reference

01/24/2014
Q. I received a call from an employee I recently fired, letting me know she listed me as a reference. She was terminated because of performance. Can I disclose that information to a potential employer?

Does workers’ comp cover injuries an employee suffers at a work-related social event?

01/24/2014
Q. Is an employee who injures himself at a ­company-sponsored picnic eligible for workers’ ­compensation?

Unpaid internships could be very expensive for employers

01/24/2014

By some estimates, more than a million people participate in internships each year in the United States, as many as half of them unpaid or for less than the minimum wage. That can be a problem for em­­ployers: Misclassifying employees as unpaid interns can result in costly litigation, civil fines or both.

Fired special needs therapist denied unemployment

01/24/2014
A former special needs therapist has lost her bid for unemployment compensation after a supervisor testified that the therapist told students she needed therapy herself because of the way the students behaved. The incident occurred while the supervisor was observing the class.

Despite misgivings, judge backs Applebee’s arbitration policy

01/24/2014
A waiter at a Philadelphia area Apple­­bee’s will have to go it alone against the company after a federal judge reluctantly admitted the man signed away his right to litigate in federal court when he joined the company.

You could be personally liable for wage violations

01/24/2014
Make sure you understand exactly when and how employees receive their pay. Reason: You could be personally liable for violating the Penn­­syl­­vania Wage Payment and Col­­lec­­tion Law (WPCL).

Frequent absences? Show when you decided to fire

01/24/2014
If you’re ready to fire an employee for missing too much work, be sure to document the absences and pinpoint when you made the termination decision. Your records may come in handy if she sues and claims her leave was FMLA-protected.

Make sure employee is clear about your system for running and counting FMLA leave

01/24/2014
Employers are free to run FMLA leave concurrently with other paid leave. Just make sure you tell employees exactly how you are accounting for their FMLA leave.

Understand the legal risks when employees telecommute from another state

01/24/2014
Before approving an employee’s request to telecommute from her home in a different state, consider that you may have to follow a different set of employment laws. If she ends up suing your company, she may do so in the state where she performed her work.

Boss seems to be seeking young ‘dream team’? Be alert for possible age discrimination

01/24/2014
Does your organization have a supervisor who frequently interviews and wants to hire younger applicants at the expense of older ones? That supervisor’s “dream team” may end up as Exhibit A in an age discrimination lawsuit.