ICYMI, yesterday, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania ruled in this opinion that PA’s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional. How fitting that the first gay couple in Philadelphia to obtain a marriage license was Kerry Smith and Rue Landau, who serves as the Executive Director…
The Employer Handbook Blog
Three employees fired for posing at work in KKK garb and makeshift crosses claim discrimination. Yep.
The thing about this law-blogging gig, other than the money, power and women, of course, is the pride of being first to post about a crazy new case. Last week, I missed out on the nude sunbather who sued an elementary school-employer for retaliation. Well, Jon Hyman at the Ohio…
Should U.S. employers provide “paid menstrual leave”?
In Friday’s edition of The Atlantic, Emily Matcher’s “Should Paid ‘Menstrual Leave’ Be a Thing?” was shared over 12,000 times. The article notes that several Asian countries including Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia, offer “menstrual leave” for women endure painful periods. However, Ms. Matcher mentioned that, while many…
Tennessee has a social media workplace privacy law now, y’all
Here are some Tennessee fun facts: The city of Kingston served as Tennessee’s state capital for one day (September 21, 1807) There are more horses per capita in Shelby County than any other county in the United States. Tennessee ties with Missouri as the most neighborly state in the union.…
PA Superior Court closes non-competition-agreement loophole
In Pennsylvania, a company and an employee can enter into an agreement whereby, in exchange for some form of consideration, the employee agrees not to compete with the company after the employment ends. Consideration can come in a variety of forms; for example, a raise, bonus, promotion, or sugar. Initial employment…
You’ve heard of the “one-free-grope” rule. How about the “two-free-slurs” rule?
It was Gloria Steinem who, in discussing President Bill Clinton’s indiscretions with Paula Jones and Kathleen Willey, fashioned the “one free grope” rule. That is, while not condoning President Clinton’s actions, Steinem concluded that one touching is not sexual harassment — at least as a matter law. Well, yesterday, the…
My employee deleted all of her work emails and quit. Can I sue her for that?
Well, sure, you can. But winning that case — especially if you’re thinking about a claim under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act — may be another story. The CFAA is designed to prevent unauthorized access or malicious interference with a computer system. Often used as an employer-sword, to state…
Minimum wage bump coming for employees of many Philly contractors
Last week, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter signed this Executive Order, which will require that many city contractors provide a minimum wage of $12/hour beginning January 1, 2015. (Although, the Order will also apply to bids and proposals issued May 20, 2014). The Executive Order also requires that contractors meet that…
Survey shows that working moms earns less, but are satisfied with their jobs
This according to this survey released yesterday from CareerBuilder.com. Working dads who were the sole breadwinners in their household were four times as likely to earn six figures, while working moms who are the sole breadwinners were nearly twice as likely to earn less than $35,000. However, money may not…
Social media in the workplace: what’s legal; what’s not? #nextchat
Yesterday, my buddy Jonathan Segal and I joined forces on Twitter to answer eight questions from SHRM’s We Know Next about the state of the law governing social media and the workplace. A big thank you to SHRM and to those who were able to join us and participate. ICYMI,…