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Pennsylvania

Track special requests for changes in hours, work

01/25/2013
Sometimes, an employee asks for schedule changes, extra hours or even permission to work from home now and then. If you grant such requests, track them carefully.

Ordinary argument about job duties doesn’t add up to hostile environment

01/25/2013

When a new supervisor arrives and makes changes, criticizes work performance and otherwise challenges old ways of doing things, thin-skinned employees may complain about working in a hostile environment. But just complaining about workplace unpleasantness doesn’t make a winning lawsuit.

Filing for workers’ comp doesn’t qualify as ADA protected activity

01/25/2013
Here’s a bit of good news. Just because an employee claims she was hurt at work and files for workers’ compensation doesn’t mean she automatically has a federal ADA retaliation case if she’s fired.

Training, strong policies key to keeping workplace harassment-free

01/25/2013
No doubt your company has a sexual harassment policy in place. However, it may have been drafted long ago and may have been long ignored by supervisors and subordinates alike. If you suspect this is the case, it’s time to dust off the document, review it and start making sure all your supervisors and managers take it seriously.

Rite-Aid OT settlement will cost over $27 million

01/25/2013

The Rite-Aid drugstore chain, based in Camp Hill, will end 14 different over­­time lawsuits with one huge settlement of more than $27 million. Plaintiffs had alleged the company misclassified assistant managers and co-managers to avoid paying them overtime.

Note condition when employee first invokes FMLA

01/25/2013

Generally, simply calling in sick doesn’t trigger an employer’s obligations to offer FMLA leave. But what if the employee was very specific about his medical condition when he first called in and clearly was eligible for FMLA leave for that first absence? Does he have to be equally specific later?

Criticism after FMLA? Beware retaliation

01/25/2013
When a good employee with no disciplinary record suddenly turns into a bad employee following FMLA leave, watch out. You may have on your hands a bitter supervisor who wants to punish the employee for disrupting workflow, creating scheduling hassles and otherwise making life more difficult. Before approving discipline or a poor evaluation, look deeper.

Use discipline record to select employees for RIF

01/01/2013
Absent a union contract or other established rule, you don’t have to use seniority to decide which em­­ployee should be laid off. You can use any objective measure.

Do we have to pay for unapproved overtime?

12/18/2012

Q. We have a policy requiring employees to get written permission before they are allowed to work any overtime. However, I have one employee who comes in early and stays late without approval. Must I pay him overtime?

Must after-hours meetings be paid?

12/18/2012

Q. I own a small restaurant. Do I need to pay employees for staff meetings held in the evenings, which are not during my employees’ regular hours of work?