Micah T. Saul

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LGBTQ workplace rights is perhaps the most rapidly evolving area in employment law.  On October 4, 2017, United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions formally weighed in on the topic.  He issued a memorandum to all federal prosecutors declaring that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not prohibit employment discrimination based on…

Most employers take proactive steps to prevent and eliminate workplace harassment. Until recently, courts recognized and rewarded the proactive approach.  Businesses in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware could avoid liability for hostile work environment claims if they rooted out the problem before it became “severe and pervasive.”

Courts had long held that a single slur,…

Prior to June 20, 2017, a powerful tool was available to employers and workers’ compensation carriers to cap exposure on long term workers’ compensation claims.  That tool, provided by the Act 44 amendments in 1996, was called an impairment rating evaluation (IRE) and generally worked like this: once a claimant had received 104 weeks of…

Workplace rights for LGBT individuals has been a rapidly developing area of the law.  A little over two years ago, former President Obama signed an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.  The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs followed suit by issuing…

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry recently announced that all employers in the Commonwealth will be required to pay their share of unemployment compensation taxes online.  The new rule takes effect January 1, 2017 and aims to reduce paperwork while streamlining the payment process.  The time for making these electronic payments will depend on…

Public employers in Pennsylvania beware: if you implement an attendance policy designed to get your employees to show up for work, you may commit an unfair labor practice!  If your employees are represented by a labor union, and your policy outlines disciplinary action, then you must bargain with the appropriate union before issuing discipline under…

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (UCIS) has released a revised version of the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form.  The revised form must be used exclusively beginning on January 22, 2017; until then, employers may use either the new version or the old version (which is dated 3/8/2013).  Most of the revisions to the I-9 operate…