Last week, Governor Tom Corbett (R) signed the Public Works Employment Verification Act. The Act goes into effect on January 1, 2013, and will require contractors and subcontractors on PA public-works projects to confirm the employment eligibility of newly hired workers using the federal E-Verify program. E-Verify is a free…
I was reading this Third Circuit decision yesterday about an employee who got demoted for sleeping on the job, and all I could think of was Homer Simpson. For not unlike Homer J., a nuclear safety technician, this employee was responsible for monitoring his plant’s equipment to prevent malfunctions that could…
In my years of practicing employment law, I’ve drafted several employee handbooks and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) policies for employers. The policies I draft are thorough. But just the other week, it occurred to me that I should probably add some language to the effect that supervisors should…
Late last year, the US Department of Labor issued this fact sheet, which provides general information concerning the Family and Medical Leave Act’s (FMLA) prohibition of retaliating against an individual for exercising his or her rights or participating in matters protected under the FMLA. Last month, the DOL followed up…
Want another reason not to enter into a long-term contract with an employee? Click through… * * * Most employment arrangements in the United States are at-will. That is, the employee may be fired (or may quit) at any time for any reason. Conversely, a term employment agreement is for…
Last week, Pennsylvania’s Governor, Tom Corbett was presented with this bill that will allow hospitals and other medical care facilities in Pennsylvania to better control the scheduling of employees to control payment of overtime. Details after the jump… * * * The bill, which Gov. Corbett is expected to…
On June 18, 2012, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives introduced the Social Media Privacy Protection Act, which would protect the privacy of employee online user names and passwords. A summary of the bill, and what this could mean for PA employers, follows after the jump… * * * Which…
As of yesterday, July 1, 2012, covered employers in Philadelphia are now required to afford sick leave to certain employees. Here is a copy of the new law. You’ll also need to read this bill to have any chance at making heads or tails of the new sick-leave requirements. But,…
I heard that there was some Supreme Court decision yesterday about healthcare. Want the scoop? Google it. They zig, I’ll zag with the scoop on some other pending employment-law legislation of which employers should take note…after the jump… * * * Courtesy of the Washington DC Employment Law Update, pay…
When Harold Wasek signed on to work at an oil rig in Pennsylvania, he had no idea what lay in store for him, especially when one of his co-workers discovered that Wasek would get easily riled with sexually explicit stories, jokes, fantasies, and names. “You’ve got such a pretty mouth.”…