• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Pennsylvania

Employment Lawyer Network:
Pennsylvania

Susan K. Lessack (Editor)

Pepper Hamilton LLP
Pennsylvania Employment Law

LessackS@PepperLaw.com
(610) 640-7806

Click for Full Bio

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.

ACA: Employers, nondiscrimination rules and the Cadillac tax

01/03/2014
For most employers, the substantive provisions of the ACA have been implemented. But employers subject to the ACA’s employer mandate, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2015, have some complicated issues to sort out: How yet-to-be-settled nondiscrimination rules and the looming “Cadillac tax” will affect their benefits plans.

State legislation would bar local sick leave ordinances

01/03/2014
State Rep. Seth Grove has proposed legislation law that would prohibit local municipalities from enacting mandatory leave requirements for employers. Grove’s move comes after Philadelphia’s City Council approved a paid leave ordinance, only to have Mayor Michael Nutter veto it.

Philadelphia Archdiocese freezes educators’ pension plan

01/03/2014
The Philadelphia Catholic Arch­­diocese has frozen a defined-benefit pension plan for its 8,500 parochial school teachers and support staff. The move comes as the archdiocese wrestles with a $150 million pension deficit.

No unemployment after griping about paltry poultry bonus

01/03/2014
A Commonwealth Court has ruled that a veteran professional chicken catcher’s bad attitude was reason enough to deny him unemployment benefits. The man was fired from his job of five years with B&B Catching Services in Northumberland County for persistently squawking about what he perceived as a stingy 2012 holiday bonus.

No whistle-blowing if safety rule was unwritten

01/03/2014
The Pennsylvania Whistleblower Law protects employees of government agencies or employers that receive state funding from retaliation for reporting wrongdoing or waste. But the protection doesn’t extend to complaints about unwritten safety rules.

Accommodation delayed may be accommodation denied

01/03/2014
Act fast on reasonable accommodations requests. Lengthy delays may be viewed as an outright denial of accommodations.

Fair is fair: Before you fire, give employee a chance to tell her side of the story

01/03/2014
Want to look good to a judge? Then take the extra time to let employees tell their side of the story before you fire them.

Periodic depression may not be ADA condition

01/03/2014
Do you have an employee who sometimes becomes depressed and needs FMLA leave on an intermittent basis to deal with flare-ups? If so, he’s not necessarily disabled under the ADA.

OK to discipline disabled worker for rule-breaking

01/03/2014
Don’t worry that you can’t discipline disabled workers—if you can show that you punish all em­­ployees equally for breaking the same rule. An employee’s disability is irrelevant as long as you don’t cut slack for other employees while punishing the disabled worker.

Pennsylvania anti-bias agency sued for race bias

01/03/2014
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) is getting a taste of its own medicine. A candidate for the position of PHRC executive director has filed a lawsuit claiming that the commission—which investigates discrimination charges—is guilty of being racially biased.