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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

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.

Keep careful HR records to demonstrate solid processes–and catch employee’s lie

10/01/2012
If an eventual lawsuit alleges that an employee submitted a form or sent a letter containing specific information, good records will make it easier to counter that claim. You’ll be able to tell the court about your process and then ask for an expert analysis of the document.

Is there an hourly threshold employees must pass to earn paid holidays?

09/26/2012

Q. Is there a law that states the number of hours necessary to be considered full time for being eligible for paid holidays? Our handbook says an employee who works fewer than 40 hours a week is considered part time. An employee who works 34 hours a week wonders if he should be eligible for paid holidays. Our handbook says he’s not. Is that OK?

Is ‘he who hired also fired’ a good defense against discrimination charges?

09/26/2012
Q. If an employee claims he was discriminated against by the same supervisor who hired and fired him, does the employer have a defense to the discrimination claim?

Must we pay an intern we plan to bring in?

09/26/2012
Q. We plan on hiring a college intern later this year. Will we have to pay him or her?

What should we do? Our work requires talking on cellphones while driving

09/26/2012

Q. The animal care officers who work for us spend 80% of their time driving and responding to rescue calls via cellphone. Requiring them to pull off the road while talking on their phones wouldn’t work. Is there another way to limit our liability?

You can’t say that! Or can you? Discussing politics in the workplace

09/26/2012
Election season often increases the volume and vociferousness of political conversations. Widening ideological gulfs, dissected and fueled by pundits, have made politics seem like a contact sport more than ever. While some political activities can be prohibited in the workplace, some actions are protected.

Steel firm settles religious accommodation suit

09/26/2012
Pittsburgh-based steel-industry supplier Magnetics International will pay $30,000 to settle a religious discrimination suit filed by an employee in Indiana who claimed the company failed to accommodate his need to worship regularly.

New Pennsylvania law protects service dogs

09/26/2012
Gov. Tom Corbett has signed legislation offering greater protection to service dogs that assist disabled people. Under the new legislation, dog owners whose dogs attack service dogs may be charged with a third-degree misdemeanor …

EEOC dresses down Delia’s for Lehigh pregnancy bias

09/26/2012
Teen fashion retailer Delia’s will pay $75,000 to two former employees at the chain’s Lehigh Valley Mall store to settle pregnancy discrimination claims. Apparently, pregnant employees didn’t mesh with Delia’s brand image.

Ugly operating room incident leads to distress trial

09/26/2012
A federal court has held that two doctors can sue over outrageous behavior in the operating room. Two Jewish anesthesiologists working for Aria Health can sue over another doctor’s be­­havior, which they allege caused them severe emotional distress.