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…
Image Credit: Pixabay.com It’s been a while since we addressed the legalization of medical marijuana in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and what that means for employers. It was about two years ago to be precise. Last October, I presented on this topic at the SHRM Lehigh Valley “annual” October Conference. …
Image Credit: Pexels.com You know what? Strike that. Milk was a bad choice. When a car dealership allegedly rehired the guy who supposedly drugged and assaulted a female co-worker — now the plaintiff in this action — it bought itself a viable hostile work environment claim. They did what now? According…
Image Credit: Photofunia.com Most discrimination lawsuits involve a single, individual plaintiff and, on the other side of the “v,” a company as the sole defendant. But, sometimes, that plaintiff will name additional individual defendants too, such as a manager, supervisor, or even someone from Human Resources. When that happens, what…
You know, I don’t think we’ve ever discussed the False Claims Act here at The Employer Handbook. I don’t think we’ve discussed crowded clown cars either. And, while clowns may pique more interest, alas, this is an employment-law blog. So, I suppose we’ll enjoy our first taste of FCA together.…
Hi there. Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? Notwithstanding Thursday’s feast, I rallied hard over the weekend. Indeed, I needed my energy up to check some boxes on my older daughter’s Christmas list. (She claims that number one is commonplace in Canada. I’m not so sure). But, I’m taking a break…
One of your supervisors has just been accused of sexual harassment. Rather than spend the money to litigate the case, your company decides to settle. Let’s go through the standard provisions: Settlement payment General release Non-admission Mutual non-disparagement Mutual confidentiality Ah, not so fast on that last one if your business is…
Back in 2016, Kathleen M. Jungclaus was the full-time Vice President of Human Resources for a Pennsylvania continuing care retirement community. She had worked for the company since 2007. On July 24, 2016, Ms. Junclaus went on her personal Twitter page and tweeted: “@realDonaldTrump I am the VP of HR in a comp…