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Articles Posted in Pennsylvania

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First, some anti-maskers sued a store over its mandate. Now, they are losing discovery disputes and getting sanctioned.

Image by Viktor Ivanchenko from Pixabay Like many of you, news of the untimely death of Michael K. Williams shook me. RIP. I thought more about Mr. Williams yesterday as I read two reports and recommendations from a Discovery Special Master assigned to a COVID-19 face mask case. Specifically, I…

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Here’s hoping employers in states like PA paid nonexempt employees for COVID-19 temperature checks at work. Otherwise…

Image by S K from Pixabay Technically, Pennsylvania is a Commonwealth. But that’s not really the point of this post. So, I’ll digress. I tend to overuse the phrase “your mileage may vary” on this blog. Often, I use it when comparing the laws of different states. But, I also…

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Does federal law forbid discrimination based on interracial relationships? Two courts disagree.

Image Credit: MaxPixel.net A white employee complains in writing that a colleague called his biracial grand-niece a “monkey” and texted him racially offensive comments about his coworkers. Within months, the employer fired the complainant. Is this retaliation? A federal court in Pennsylvania said no. It reasoned that while Title VII…

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Like ordering a cheesesteak with Swiss, employee-friendly OT rules just aren’t meant to be in PA

Image Credit: Photofunia.com Let’s face it. Unlike its neighbor, New Jersey, a/k/a the California of the East, not many would label the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania an employee-friendly state. There’s no state-level FMLA, the whistleblower law is basically limited to public sector employers, and the Commonwealth’s anti-discrimination laws essentially mimic federal…

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Gas up the Bugatti for the commute! Pennsylvania has relaxed its private sector restrictions on teleworking.

Image by Martine Auvray from Pixabay Come on, Eric! Yesterday, you blogged about Philly, and now this. What’s with all the Pennsylvania posts this week? Ok, folks. I promise(ish). We’re (likely) done. In the remaining three posts, I’ll (probably) incorporate other states. Like tomorrow, I want to blog about how…

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A federal court just greenlit the failure-to-accommodate claim of a medical marijuana user. But why?!?

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay Oh, I was just asking. I thought you knew. Ok, let’s start over.  Since I did read this opinion and, apparently, it’s my job to do the ‘splaining around here. Just don’t accuse me of blog-splaining. Anyway, according to the plaintiff, an employee of a…

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Can you fire an employee for complaining that the company violated state/local COVID-19 orders?

whistleblower by Lorie Shaull from the Noun Project Often, readers of the blog will email me recent blogworthy HR news. Occasionally, an attorney will send me a favorable decision that s/he obtained for a client on an employment law topic that may interest readers of this blog. Today, that’s what…

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Heads up! Check to see if your state and local quarantine rules have changed recently.

Image by thedarknut from Pixabay Last week, I wrote here about how the CDC had changed its guidance on COVID-19 close contact. As a result, lots of state and local guidance became misaligned with the federal change. But now they’re catching up. For example, Sara Satullo at LehighValleyLive.com reports here…

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Vlog and Blog COMBO! COVID-19 and Thanksgiving. Plus, a new telecommuting mandate in PA

Amy and Eric are talking COVID-19 and Thanksgiving on YouTube. Only in 2020… I had intended to keep the typing to a minimum today by sending you over to The Employer Handbook YouTube Channel, where I posted this video in which my colleague, Amy Epstein Gluck, and I tried to…

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That time when all the employment lawyers got paid and the litigants got zilch!

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay Just about the only folks guaranteed to get paid in an employment discrimination case are the lawyers. Employers generally pay the lawyers representing them by the hour. Conversely, employee-rights attorneys generally representing plaintiffs in these types of cases do so on a contingency basis, meaning…