Public Domain, Link It’s right there in the statute. Under New Jersey and Delaware state law, you can’t discriminate against an employee based on his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. Now, you won’t find the words “sexual orientation” or “gender identity” anywhere in the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. But, starting…
I’ll wait patiently while you pick your jaws up off the floor. I want some of what you’re having, Eric. Have you lost your freaking mind, Eric? Nope, I’m good. I’ve been practicing law now for nearly twenty years. In that time, I’ve learned a few immutable truths: Plaintiffs keep every…
By Chris Potter (Flickr: 3D Judges Gavel) [CC BY 2.0 ], via Wikimedia CommonsYesterday, I blogged here about the most important employment law decision of 2018. It’s a case called Minarsky v. Susquehanna County (opinion here). If you missed my post, well, it was long. 1,888 words long. So, here’s the super-condensed version:…
By Wolfmann [CC BY-SA 4.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons Minarsky v. Susquehanna County (opinion here) is a sexual harassment case. And there’s a lot to discuss. But the biggest takeaway is that any subsequent employer-defendant asserting a Faragher/Ellerth defense in the Third Circuit will find it very difficult to obtain summary…
Image Credit: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/en/stamp-characters-label-informant-143799/) Until a few years ago, if an employer wanted to pursue a claim for misappropriation of trade secrets, it probably had to do so in state court under state law. The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 changed all that. The DTSA is a federal law that created a…
Image Credit: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/en/eyes-surprise-wow-expression-open-312093/) Yesterday morning, I read my friend Jon Hyman’s post on LinkedIn about a lawsuit in which a person of color alleged that various supervisors and managers: Frequently called him the “n-word”; Told him to “reach his black hands out” while handing him a box; and Offered him a…
By Governor Tom Wolf from Harrisburg, PA [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia CommonsOn February 5, 2018, the Detroit Lions named former New England Patriots Defensive Coordinator Matt Patricia as the team’s new Head Coach. Maybe, Lions ownership missed Super Bowl LII and the 41 points that the Philadelphia Eagles dropped…
Ad Meskens [Attribution, CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], from Wikimedia CommonsI’ll be testifying today before the Pennsylvania House Labor and Industry Committee at a public hearing on harassment and sexual misconduct in the workplace. I should be up at about 10:50 AM, when I will testify for five minutes on: the…
Screenshot taken from https://news.starbucks.com/views/a-follow-up-message-from-starbucks-ceo-in-philadelphia Starbucks was riding a pretty good HR streak in 2018. Among other things, the coffee giant had attained 100% gender and racial equality and announced investments in paid leave. Yep, things were lookin’ really good for Starbucks. Then, last week, things got really bad. An arrest…
Facebook Mobile Texting Smartphone Facebook Lite (Image Credit: http://maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com/Facebook-Mobile-Texting-Smartphone-Facebook-Lite-3021068) During a week-long vacation from work, a Pennsylvania woman claims that some colleagues logged into her Facebook account from work and reviewed her Facebook Messenger messages, among other things. The woman further claims that when she returned to work from vacation, her…
