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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In an unpublished opinion, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals denied a Pennsylvania company’s attempt to enjoin a former employee, who had entered into several restrictive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.
Hi there, Pennsylvania employers. Do you have employees that remind you of the sleeping gentleman in the picture to the right? After the jump, read about a local employee who was fired after getting caught sleeping on the job four times, and still successfully obtained unemployment compensation benefits!
Do I have your attention now?
Early next year, the Construction Workplace Misclassification Act goes into effect. Signed in October, 2010, this legislation provides criteria for classifying a person as an independent contractor (versus an employee) in the construction industry. If you operate a business in the construction industry, you need to get prepared. Otherwise, you may be looking at fines and jail time.
Learn more after the jump.
Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), which prohibits genetic information discrimination in employment, took effect on November 21, 2009. Nearly a year later, the EEOC published the final GINA regulations.
How does this law affect employers? I’ll break it down for you after the jump.
Religious discrimination claims are skyrocketing. A supervisor at a local shoe store didn’t get the memo. Guess how that turned for him…
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To answer your question, it depends. And in Pennsylvania, there are a lot of factors that a court will consider, based on a recent case decided by the Pennsylvania Superior Court. But, unlike many prior Pennsylvania decisions that deal with the enforceability of a non-competition agreement after an employee is fired, this recent decision focuses on a non-solicitation agreement.
Read on to find out whether the non-solicitation agreement that an employees signs with your company is still enforceable if you decide to end the employment relationship.
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