June, 2011

Philadelphia’s Mayor vetoes a proposed mandatory-sick-pay bill

June 30, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

Yesterday afternoon, in a letter to City Council, Mayor Michael Nutter vetoed the “Promoting Healthy Families and Workplaces” bill. This bill, discussed in a previous blog post, would have required businesses to provide paid sick leave to employees who work a minimum number of hours in Philadelphia County.

On June 16, City Council passed a watered-down version of the bill by a razor-thin 9-8 vote.

Here is a copy of the amended bill.

Legislation introduced to expand FMLA coverage in PA

June 29, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), a federal law, entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take up to twelve workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for:

the birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth;

the placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement;

to care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition; and

a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job.

Last week, House Bill No. 1713, otherwise known as the Pennsylvania Family and Medical Leave Act, was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Labor and Industry.

How might this bill impact Pennsylvania’s already FMLA-qualifying employers? Find out after jump.

* * *

Could the Beastie Boys collect overtime pay in Pennsylvania?

June 28, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5rRZdiu1UE

If Cochese and Bobby, “The Rookie” were working mall security in Pennsylvania, would their employer have to pay them for the time they spend keeping those uniforms looking 80s-spiffy? If it were up to one Pennsylvania federal court, they would be SOL.

You’ll see what I mean once you hit the jump…

* * *

Last call! Bloggers wanted for the “Employment Law Blog Carnival”

June 27, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could find a single online resource with links to a slew of topical blog posts about a particular topic or area — say, employment law? Well, I have a solution. But I need your help…to create a blog carnival.

What is a blog carnival, you ask? It is all explained here. In a nutshell, here’s how it will work:

To get things started, bloggers submit employment-law-related blog posts to me.

Can a bridge worker with a fear of heights have a viable ADA claim?

June 24, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

Today, I get to sleep in because The Employer Handbook has a guest blogger. It’s Andrew Kim, a summer associate at Dilworth Paxson LLP:

* * *

Some people have no problem with heights (as seen above). But Darrell Miller, a bridge worker, had acrophobia (a.k.a. the fear of heights). In fact, Mr. Miller had suffered a panic attack due to that very fear while working on the bridge crew for the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). He then sought a reasonable accommodation so that he wouldn’t have to work on big bridges. IDOT refused. Did it violate the Americans with Disabilities Act?

Find out after the jump . . .

* * *

EEOC buzz: deliberate discrimination against job seekers

June 23, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

Yesterday, the EEOC held a meeting to discuss what it deems a “major national problem”; namely, deliberate discrimination against job seekers based on their race, sex, age, national origin or other prohibited basis.

After the jump, I’ll summarize the meeting and offer some tips for employers to help them stay off of the EEOC’s radar.

* * *

BEWARE EMPLOYERS: Overhauled union-election rules may be near

June 22, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has proposed amendments to its existing rules and regulations that will vastly change the way union-elections are conducted. The NLRB spin on these amendments is that they will “reduce unnecessary litigation, streamline pre- and post-election procedures, and facilitate the use of electronic communications and document filing.”

Is this a good thing or a bad thing for employers? I’ll detail the proposed changes, after the jump.

* * *

What Wal-Mart’s High Court win means for employers, large and small

June 21, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

As reported on this blog yesterday, as well as in a gazillion other news outlets — but probably here ~~first~~ firstish — the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned certification of a potential class of 1.5 million current and former female employees seeking relief against Wal-Mart for alleged gender discrimination.

After the jump, a break down of the Opinion and what it means for employers, big and small.

* * *

BREAKING: Supreme Court reverses Wal-Mart v. Dukes class action

June 20, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

Thumbnail image for Supreme Court.jpg The United States Supreme Court has just overturned a Ninth Circuit decision that would have allowed 1.5 million female employees to pursue a class-action gender discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. You can read a copy of the Supreme Court’s opinion here.

I’ll have more on this decision tomorrow at The Employer Handbook.

$1,000 fine per day for not posting notice of harassment verdict

June 20, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

There once was an employer in Racine.
With a manager whose antics were racy.
The court said, “You lose!”
Now, tell everyone the news.
And if you disobey, it’ll cost you big money.
*** Although I feel rhyming “Racine” with “racy” was pure Shakespeare, I’m fairly certain that Edward Lear’s corpse just pissed itself ***

After the jump, it’s the employer, found liable for sexual harassment, that refused to abide by a court-ordered notice requiring it to inform its employees about the verdict…

* * *
Continue reading