Pennsylvania

Third Circuit: The Lily Ledbetter Act Does not cover failure-to-promote claims

October 3, 2010 | by Eric B. Meyer

Our old friend Robert Rank-And-File is at it again. He has sued his employer, Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware, Inc., in federal court. Robert claims that Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware, Inc. violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it failed to promote him because of his gender, national origin and race. Before he initiated his lawsuit, Robert filed a charge of discrimination with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. But Robert has a problem. He filed his charge two years after he claims that Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware, Inc. failed to promote him. Under Title VII, his claim is now time-barred. But can he use the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to salvage his claim?

Find out after the jump…

How do PA, NJ, and DE address discrimination based on sexual orientation?

October 3, 2010 | by Eric B. Meyer

Recently, I read an article by Bob Egelko in
the San Francisco Chronicle about a speech from U.S.
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in which he told law
students from U.C. Hastings that the 14th Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution, which guarantees equal protection to all U.S.
citizens, do not preclude discrimination based on sex. Justice Scalia
believes that the drafters of the Constitution did not have sex
discrimination on the brain when they passed the 14th Amendment.

A wake-up call to employers who raise vanilla affirmative defenses

September 12, 2010 | by Eric B. Meyer

Over at Texas Lawyer, Mike Maslanka has a short, but very important post about a recent case out of the

5 ways for Pennsylvania employers to prevent workplace violence

September 11, 2010 | by Eric B. Meyer

I remember about a month ago reading a post on Daniel Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog about a shooting involving a Connecticut employer. Actually, at the time, I only skimmed the article. Nine dead. Tragic event. But it happened several hundred miles away.

On September 9, in Northeast Philly, my backyard, an employee who claimed she was fed up with years of constant harassment from neighbors and co-workers, returned to work after her shift had ended clutching a .357 magnum. According to a news report from Philly.com, she pointed the gun at two unarmed security guards — the employer had already taken some precautions against a potential episode of workplace violence — and ordered them to the gate. After the guards allowed the armed employee to enter, she went to a break room where she found four employees. After ordering one to leave, the disgruntled employee opened fire on the other three. Two died at the scene. One is in critical condition

I offer five preventative solutions after the jump…

In PA, NJ, and DE, when does religious expression take a backseat to workplace safety?

September 8, 2010 | by Eric B. Meyer

Your employee wears a head-covering. The employee’s head-covering is part of her religious practice.

You’re not one to interfere with an employee’s religious expressions, but you’re concerned that this head-covering creates a safety risk for both the employee and others. And maybe you run a prison and the head-covering could be used to smuggle in contraband.

After jump, I have some practice tips for you.
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Third Circuit Employment Law 101: Who Does The FMLA Cover?

September 7, 2010 | by Eric B. Meyer

My blog designers told me that if I want to build SEO — that’s Search Engine Optimization to you rookies — I’d better write about employment law issues affecting Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware (duh!) and “optimize” my blog post titles with the keywords near the front.

Learn more about which employees are covered after the jump.
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Third Circuit Employment Law 101: Constructive Discharge

September 7, 2010 | by Eric B. Meyer

In some cases, a plaintiff will argue as part of his Title VII discrimination action that his former employer didn’t fire him. But rather he was constructively discharged. That’s fancy speak for being forced to resign.
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Third Circuit Employment Law 101: Quid Pro Quo Harassment

September 7, 2010 | by Eric B. Meyer

Robert Rank-And-File, an employee of Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware, Inc., claims that Sally Supervisor told him, “Sleep with me, or you’re fired!” Robert declines Sally’s advances only to have Sally fire him. If Robert decides to pursue an action under Title VII against Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware, Inc., how can he prevail at trial?
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Third Circuit Employment Law 101: ADA Mixed-Motive Disparate Impact Claims

September 7, 2010 | by Eric B. Meyer

Look what just arrived in today’s mail. It’s a charge of discrimination from the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Looks like Robert Rank-And-File — the guy Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware, Inc. fired from data entry — alleges that the company terminated him because he’s disabled.

I’ll show you after the jump.
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Third Circuit Employment Law 101: ADA Defenses – Direct Threat

September 7, 2010 | by Eric B. Meyer

Can an employer terminate a disabled employee because accommodating the employee would create a significant risk of substantial harm to the employee or others in the workplace?