Can a company create and enforce a policy that requires employees on paid sick leave to remain close to their homes, unless they obtain the company’s permission?
Would that policy infringe on an employee’s FMLA rights?
Good questions.
The answers are after the jump.
If, in a pending civil action, the defendant requests to Facebook “friend” the plaintiff in order to learn more about the plaintiff’s claims, must the plaintiff accept the friend request?
This is precisely the issue that a PA Court of Common Pleas recently faced.
So, what happened? Find out after the jump.
Earlier this month, a Pennsylvania federal court held that plaintiffs in a contractual-dispute matter must reimburse the defendants, who prevailed on summary judgment, for all costs that the defendants incurred in the production of e-discovery.
Now that’s a hammer!
More on this decision and how it might apply in an employee lawsuit against an employer, after the jump.
If you guessed 15 minutes, you would be right, according to a recent decision from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
And you don’t need to point a gun at the employee’s head? A rusty fork in the doo-dads “knowing and intelligent” waiver based on a “totality of the circumstances” will suffice.
What are those circumstances? Find out after the jump.
If you read this blog (or just about any other labor and employment law blog), you know that social media policies have fallen under recent heightened scrutiny because of the chilling effect they could have on employees discussing terms and conditions of employment (e.g., wages, hours, etc.) with each other online. Where there is no controversy, however, is that companies may discipline employees who shirk their job responsibilities and goof of online — especially while on the clock.
After the jump, it’s a decision from the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania denying unemployment compensation benefits to a nurse who was fired for using Facebook at work while she should have been medicating patients.
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Hey all! As I promised last night on Twitter, I’ve got nothing left in the tank for this blog post after watching my beloved Bruins defeat the hated Habs in overtime of Game 7 last night.
So, I’ll keep this short and sweet.
After the jump, I answer a question that many HR folks in Pennsylvania have asked me? Do we have to give employees access to their personnel files upon request?
I can’t make this stuff up if I tried.
The Associated Press reports that the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commissions has ordered a local employer to pay $38,700 in back pay and interest to a female employee it fired for fighting at a cheese-making plant. According to the report, Rosalind Brown prevailed on her gender discrimination claim because she apparently received harsher discipline than male employees who had engaged in more egregious behavior:
The commission agreed with Rosalind Brown who claims it was unfair for her to be fired when two men who fought at the Dairy Farmers of America Inc. plant in West Middlesex received only 3-day suspensions. 1 of the men was injured when the other threw a 20-pound block of cheese.
In an unpublished opinion, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals denied a Pennsylvania company’s attempt to enjoin a former employee, who had entered into several restrictive covenants with the company, to compete directly against the company and solicit its customers.
What did this employer do wrong and how can you learn from its mistakes?
After the jump…
On four Thursdays in March and April (3/17, 3/24, 3/31, 4/7), I am hosting a free breakfast in Philadelphia, PA for all of my readers. With your bagel and schmear, I throw in four all-star panels of lawyers and industry professionals who will offer up their social media best practices to both protect and enhance your business.
- Imagine getting deep insight from a Fortune
500100 Labor and Employee Relations Strategist about how unions are using social media to organize your business.- Or how about some money-saving tips from the HR Director of a NASDAQ-traded company about how you can maximize your search for job candidates using social media?
Keeping with this week’s smoking theme, I see that the The New York Times recently ran a story discussing how some employers are refusing to hire smokers. The article warns, ““Smokers now face another risk from their habit: it could cost them a shot at a job.”
But is this legal? Can an employer really refuse to hire someone who smokes?
To learn the answer, check out a recent post I did at The Legal Intelligencer.
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