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Articles Posted in Pennsylvania

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A lesson on non-competes: What you don’t know, can’t hurt you. Until it does.

Ready, fire, aim. That’s the approach that many employers take when seeking to enforce a covenant not to compete with a former employee. Ready, fire, aim. When there’s a even a whisper that a former employee has gone to work for a competitor, the former employer often rushes into court,…

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Pretty soon, asking salary-history questions in Philly will get you sued.

Like requesting swiss cheese on your cheesesteak — way to go John Kerry — pretty soon, asking about a candidate’s salary history will be verboten too. {cue music – soft / hard} Last week, Philadelphia City Council read and passed this bill, which will ban employers from inquiring about salary history, and…

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Can you fire an employee whom you learn is “alt-right”?

What the heck do pistachios have to do with the Alternative Right also known as the “alt-right” or white nationalists? Well, multiple news outlets, Philly.com (here) among others, are reporting that Emily Youcis, better known to attendees of Philadelphia Phillies games as “Pistachio Girl,” is out of a job. According to…

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File the “blue collar workplace” defense to a hostile work environment in the trash can

When defending against a woman’s sexual harassment claim, I’ve found that “she was asking for it” is generally a bad defense. So bad, in fact, that you may just want to whip out the old checkbook instead. Another crappy one, apparently, is trying to convince a judge that an industrial…

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PA federal court turns the page and protects gay workers from discrimination

In 2001, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals decided Bibby v. Philadelphia Coca Cola Bottling Co. In Bibby, the Third Circuit could not have been clearer about whether federal anti-discrimination law made LGBT bias at work unlawful. “Title VII does not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Congress has repeatedly…

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Facebook Live and the hella-icky, vomitous workplace implications

Vomitous is a word, right? What is Facebook Live? Facebook Live permits anyone with a Facebook account to whip out their smartphone and broadcast video live to their Facebook friends and followers, each of whom receive a notification when the broadcast begins. For example, right from my desk in Philadelphia, I…

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3d Cir: Employers cannot use paid meal breaks to offset unpaid overtime

A few weeks ago, I blogged here about a federal agency — one that rhymes with EEOB — reaching a 7-figure settlement with its workers of alleged Fair Labor Standards Act overtime violations involving comp time. Last week, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion, in which it…

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Court says employee’s Facebook page on race stereotypes is fair game at trial

Many times — most recently last Friday — I’ve discussed instances in which the 24/7 world of social media has cost individuals their jobs. But, here’s a little twist. Earlier this month, a Pennsylvania federal court ruled here that a plaintiff’s Facebook page called “Yo know yo ass is from the da hood,” could…