Pennsylvania

Court says employee’s Facebook page on race stereotypes is fair game at trial

July 18, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

Many times — most recently last Friday — I’ve discussed instances in which the 24/7 world of social media has cost individuals their jobs.

But, here’s a little twist. Earlier this month, a Pennsylvania federal court ruled here that a plaintiff’s Facebook page called “Yo know yo ass is from the da hood,” could be used by a defendant-employer to impeach an African-American employee’s claims of race discrimination and retaliation at work.

Medical Marijuana is coming to PA. What do employers need to know?

April 14, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

Pennsylvania is about to become the second Commonwealth in the United States to legalize medical marijuana. (23 states — la di da, states — plus DC currently allow it)

Does this mean that employees with migraines can puff vape pens and eat Cheetos in your break rooms at work? Actually, I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works.

Can you force an employee to delete critical tweets about the company? NLRB says no.

March 17, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

Folks, it’s been a real crappy 2016 for Chipotle.

Sorry, NLRB. Using an iPhone to secretly record a conversation with your boss may be criminal

February 24, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

Remember last month when I told you ~~to short crude oil futures and bet the Broncos to win the Super Bowl~~ about how the National Labor Relations Board concluded that an employer could not maintain a workplace rule that banned employees from recording workplace conversations, absent prior company approval. (More on that here).

Well, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, before you get any bright ideas about secretly recording your boss, you’d better think twice.

FLSA 101: When do you have to pay employees for rest breaks?

January 19, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

This Tuesday blog post is brought to you by the number 20. As in, when your non-exempt employees go on break for 20 minutes or less, you need to pay them for that time.

Fired you will be getting drunk, DUI, and arrested on an FMLA day

December 1, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

That’s the opening line from the Director’s Cut of the advance screening that JJ Abrams sent me. Trueish story.

Hocus Pocus: PA Supremes eliminate magic language for creating non-compete loopholes

November 20, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court made a lot of — some would say, creative — lawyers unhappy.

As a social-media-nerd employment lawyer, this one has me shakin’ my head.

November 16, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

In Pennsylvania, the Rules of Professional Conduct require that an attorney must stay abreast of changes in changes in the law, including the benefits of advances in technology.

LinkedIn was founded over 10 years ago. If you’re reading this and you are not familiar with LinkedIn …

I mean, geez. For a litigator, it’s absolutely essential. And I’m not even talking about having a LinkedIn profile.

The limits of employee free speech on social media

September 9, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

One of the finest employment-law bloggers, Daniel Schwartz, recently marked the eight-year anniversary of his Connecticut Employment Law Blog with a post about the three most notable changes in employment law over that span. Number one was social media.

While for us bloggers, social media presents the lowest-hanging clickbait fruit, its metamorphosis and overall effect on the workplace is undeniable. Social media presents a slew of issues, from hiring (all those state laws on social media passwords) to firing (like the time those Facebook postings bungled an employee’s FMLA claims) and so much more.

FMLA Basics: Which employees are eligible to take leave? And are there any exceptions?

September 4, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

The Family and Medical Leave Act allows eligible employees to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period for a variety of reasons, including for one’s own serious health condition. An employee with a serious health condition can take FMLA leave if the employee satisfies three additional requirements: