Pennsylvania

The pharmacist who refused to give flu shots lost his age discrimination claim

February 25, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

In a world, where an employee cannot prove age discrimination after getting fired for playing golf during his medical leave, comes the story of a pharmacist *** dramatic pause *** who wouldn’t give flu shots. While we wait for Hollywood to greenlight this movie — I’m thinking Gary Oldman as the pharmacist and Blossom‘s Jenna von Oy as the customer — you’ll just have to settle for a short blog post about the age discrimination lawsuit that ensued after the pharmacist was fired.

As detailed in this recent Pennsylvania federal court opinion, a drug store decided to require that its pharmacists immunize customers upon request. The plaintiff, a pharmacist, was morally opposed to administering the flu vaccine because a close friend of his had contracted Guillain-Barre Syndrome after receiving a flu vaccine. The drug store didn’t doubt the sincerity of the plaintiff’s beliefs. Nonetheless, it fired him because he refused to immunize customers, which was an essential part of his job. Continue reading

Consider requiring your new independent contractors to release employment claims

February 17, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

What the hell are you talking about, Eric? Why would we make an independent contractor sign a release of employment claims before starting work for our company?

So glad you asked. Although, I’m not sure I like your tone.

*** takes pills ***

Many years ago, Allstate Insurance restructured its business, where it decided to longer have employees; only independent contractors. So, it offered its employees a bunch of options. One option was a severance; another was the ability to convert to independent contractor status. Either way, the individual had to release all past and presented employment-related claims agains the company.

When the EEOC got wind of the conversion option, they cried retaliation.

Will the PA Supreme Court revolutionize non-compete agreements?

December 23, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

I meant to write about this a week or so ago after I saw Dan Packel’s article at Law360. But, then, I got sidetracked with a bunch of NLRB stuff. Until, yesterday, Lizzy McLellan’s article at The Legal Intelligencer brought me back.

So, here’s the deal. The basic rule in PA has always been that, for a non-compete to be enforceable, it needs to be entered into when employment begins (i.e., as consideration for offering employment), or there needs to be some independent consideration to support it (e.g., a raise, bonus, promotion, etc.).

However, some outlier judicial decisions in PA have concluded that PA’s Uniform Written Obligations Act magically adds consideration to any agreement with the words “intending to be legally bound.”

Court gives cold shoulder to frostbite as an ADA disability

October 23, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

See that lede right there! That’s journalism, baby!

After the jump, let’s talk about what it means to have a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act.

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Read this before you revoke a job offer in Pennsylvania based on criminal history

October 10, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Across the country, many states and localities have enacted ban-the-box legislation. In a nutshell, ban the box means that employers cannot inquire about an applicant’s criminal history until after the first job interview.

For example, Philadelphia has ban the box. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania does not.

Still, Pennsylvania does have the Criminal History Record Information Act. But, indeed, a Pennsylvania federal court ruled on Wednesday that the Act and ban the box are two separate things:

Hitler jokes from supervisors of German descent are, oh, what’s the word?

September 23, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

The German word is “dumm“

Or, as they say in Germ-lish: Hella-dumm.

More after the jump…

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A restaurant posted LeSean McCoy’s receipt on its Facebook page

September 9, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

My mind…blown!

Yesterday, the local internet feeds were flooding us with news that Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy allegedly left a 20-cent tip at a local restaurant at which he and some friends had lunch on Monday. The “smoking gun” was a copy of what is purported to be McCoy’s lunch receipt from the restaurant.

I read “Eagles Player LeSean McCoy Just Left a 20-Cent Tip at PYT” on PhillyMag.com, and “LeSean McCoy tips 20 cents at PYT. The restaurant, PYT, even posted about it on its own Facebook page, complete with a copy of the supposed McCoy receipt.