Earlier this year, we told you that Pittsburgh became the second city in Pennsylvania to enact a paid sick leave law, providing, in part, that employers were required to provide employees a minimum of 1 hour of paid sick time per 35 hours worked, with the maximum accrual dependent upon the number of employees.
Gina McAndrew
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Double the Pain: DOL Now Assessing Liquidated Damages for Overtime Violations
By Joe Sileo & Gina McAndrew on
Posted in Wage & Hour
For some time now, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) has been taking a progressively more aggressive approach to wage and hour compliance, marked by increased staffing/resources and more frequent investigations. Certain industries, like construction and gas/oil industry employers, are now frequent targets, but no business is immune from the government’s…
Pittsburgh Paid Sick Leave Act Goes Into Effect January 11, 2016
By Gina McAndrew on
Posted in Workplace Trends
The City of Pittsburgh recently became the second city in Pennsylvania to enact a paid sick leave law, with Mayor William Peduto signing the Paid Sick Days Act into law on August 13, 2015. While the Act is facing legal challenges, Pittsburgh’s City Controller recently posted notice that the Act is effective January 11, 2016. …
A New Joint-Employer Standard from the NLRB
By Gina McAndrew on
Posted in Unions
In a long-awaited decision, a split National Labor Relations Board has adopted a new test to determine joint-employer status, expanding the possibility that an employer utilizing staffing or temporary workforce agencies may be considered a joint-employer. In Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc., the NLRB determined that both the recycling facility and the staffing agency…
OSHA Announces Major Focus on Healthcare Industry
By Joe Sileo & Gina McAndrew on
Posted in Employer Liability
In late June, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) announced a major initiative that will intensify and expand the agency’s enforcement resources in the healthcare industry, with a focus on several common causes of workplace injuries in hospitals and nursing homes including workplace injuries related to patient or resident lifting, as well as workplace…
Substantial and Unilateral Changes Enough to Establish Good Cause To Quit
By Gina McAndrew on
Posted in Employer Liability
In another unemployment compensation case, the Commonwealth Court held that a substantial and unilateral change to a claimant’s pay and performance goals was enough to meet the burden of a necessitous and compelling cause to voluntarily quit employment.
Claimant was a vice president of sales for an insurance company for approximately 17 months. Shortly…
Workers’ Compensation Act Applies to UC Claims
By Gina McAndrew on
In a case of first impression, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court recently issued an opinion examining the standards applicable to a claimant’s behavior when the claimant is receiving workers’ compensation benefits and has filed for unemployment compensation.
By way of background, the claimant suffered a brain injury at work and received workers’ compensation benefits. Several months…
Can a Fragrance Allergy Lead to an ADA or FMLA Claim?
By Gina McAndrew on
No, we’re not talking about the skit performed by the McNees Players at our recent Labor and Employment Seminar. In a recent case out of a Pennsylvania federal court, an employee alleged that she suffered from a fragrance allergy and “multiple chemical sensitivity” to fragrant chemicals, perfumes and scented lotions, which impacted her in several…
Court Finds in Favor of Employer in Boss-Related Stress Case
By Gina McAndrew on
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Employer Liability
In a recent case out of California, a state appellate court found that an employee’s inability to work for a particular supervisor due to boss-related stress and anxiety did not constitute a disability under state law. The employee worked for her employer for approximately three years before being diagnosed by her doctor with adjustment disorder…
What’s In Your Employee Personnel Files?
By Gina McAndrew on
Posted in Employer Liability
All employers should be aware of the specific laws and regulations pertaining to employee personnel files. Pursuant to the Pennsylvania Personnel File Act, medical information should not be included in an employee’s personnel file. Medical information includes any document that relates or refers to an individual’s physical or mental health, condition, or impairment, including but…