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Articles Posted in Pennsylvania

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Fact or Fiction: Disabilities under the ADAAA cannot be episodic

That’s right folks. It’s time for another edition of “Fact or Fiction” a/k/a “Quick Answers to Quick Questions” a/k/a QATQQ f/k/a “I don’t feel like writing a long blog post.” So, let’s get right to it. In Pearce-Mato v. Shinseki, decided earlier this week, a Pennsylvania federal court reminded us…

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The teacher who blogged about her “dunderhead” students is back!

And she’s making news again… It’s been nine long months since I blogged about a favorite of The Employer Handbook: Natalie Munroe. You can read about her here, here, here, and here. She is the PA teacher who, on her blog, described her students as argumentative f*cks who may engage…

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Federal legislation reintroduced to promote hiring veterans

To improve the reinstatement rights of returning war veterans, and to add more enforcement teeth to the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), Pennsylvania Senator Robert Casey reintroduced the Servicemembers Access to Justice Act (SAJA) last week. Details on SAJA and what it could mean for employers follow…

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EEOC now publishes charge data, by state. Have a look…

You can access the state-by-state charge data here. And view it all in a single downloadable spreadsheet here. In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, individuals filed 4,302 charges of discrimination in FY2011, which amounts to 4.3% of the total number of US charges filed. As with Americans across the country, retaliation was…

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Fact or Fiction: FLSA preempts state wage and hour laws?

That’s right folks. It’s time for another edition of “Fact or Fiction” a/k/a “Quick Answers to Quick Questions” a/k/a QATQQ f/k/a “I don’t feel like writing a long blog post” d/b/a (just for today) “Eric’s 36th-Birthday Post”.  *** Sigh *** Ahh…let’s get to today’s question: May an employee raise claims…

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Court allows plaintiff a quick peek into defendant’s Facebook account

A state court judge in Pennsylvania has come up with a new way to afford litigants access to social media as part of discovery in a pending civil action. Daniel Cummins at Tort Talk has the details: The Judge’s page long Order does not provide the background on the case…

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Good luck overcoming the at-will employment presumption in PA

In Pennsylvania, as in most states, an employee without a contract for a specific term of employment is deemed an at-will employee. Subject to certain exceptions (e.g., discrimination, violations of public policy), an at-will employee can be terminated for any reason or no reason at all. How hard is it…

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PA remains a hotbed of social-media discovery disputes

  I’ve been slacking, folks. Not since November have I blogged about a defendant’s motion to compel a motion to compel an individual’s social-media content. Since then, several more Pennsylvania courts have weighed in on this burgeoning area. I’m sorry to each and every one of you. I have let…

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PA companies offering severance to employees should read this…

Starting this year, employees who receive severance pay in excess of 40% of the average annual wage in Pennsylvania will have their unemployment compensation benefits offset. Currently, that 40% number is $17,853.00. As Jonathan Segal, Legislative Director for PA State Council of SHRM, notes here, employers should be very careful…

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Your favorite “The Employer Handbook” posts from 2011

  As the year draws to a close, let’s take a look back at the most popular posts at The Employer Handbook in 2011, based on number of hits: 5. Social media and the workplace. School teacher Natalie Munroe made several appearances on the blog this year. Remember her? She…