Recruiting, Hiring, and Retention

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The Philadelphia City Council recently passed Bill No. 160840, a wage equity ordinance (the “Ordinance”), that will amend Philadelphia’s Fair Practices Ordinance to prohibit employers or employment agencies from inquiring about the wage history of potential employees.  Among other things, the Ordinance also includes an anti-retaliation provision, which prohibits any form of retaliation against…

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…

On September 9, 2016, the Pennsylvania Superior Court upheld an award of $4.5 million in punitive damages against several former employees, who violated non-compete/non-solicitation agreements with their former employers.  In B.G. Balmer & Co. Inc. v. Frank Crystal & Co., Inc., et al., the court determined that among other things, the former employees’ used…

There has been a lot of buzz recently about “ban the box” initiatives prohibiting employers from asking job applicants about their criminal records.  Proponents of these initiatives argue that employers should not consider an applicant’s old or minor criminal record to deny job opportunities.  On February 16, 2016, Pennsylvania took a different approach to this…

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently re-affirmed the principle that in order to have an enforceable non-compete agreement in Pennsylvania, the agreement must be supported by adequate consideration and that a statement merely agreeing to be “legally bound” doesn’t meet that requirement. The Court ruled against a waterproofing company hoping to enforce a non-compete agreement against…

On March 1, 2015, New Jersey’s Opportunity to Compete Act (also known as “Ban the Box”) went into effect.  The Act applies to employers with 15 or more employees over 20 calendar weeks that do business, employ people, or take applications for employment in the Garden State.  During the initial employment application process, employers are…

In a case of first impression for the appellate courts of this Commonwealth, the Pennsylvania Superior Court recently ruled in Socko v. Mid-Atlantic Systems of CPA, Inc. that language contained in an employment agreement entered into after commencement of employment, which indicated the parties’ “intent to be legally bound” was insufficient consideration to support a non-compete agreement.
Continue Reading Employers Must Provide “Valuable Consideration” To Current Employees When Entering A Non-Compete Agreement During Employment

In Pennsylvania, a non-compete agreement (NCA) must be supported by legal “consideration” in order to be enforceable. If a newly hired employee signs a NCA at the time of hire as a condition of employment, the new job is the consideration for the agreement not to compete in the future. On the other hand, once an employee is already employed, his employer cannot foist an NCA on him and expect it to be enforceable unless new consideration is given (e.g. a special bonus, job protection, promotion, severance benefits, etc.). These basic principles are well established under Pennsylvania law.

But what happens if an employer presents a NCA to a new hire after he accepts a written job offer but before he actually starts work?
Continue Reading You’ve Got the Job, Details Will Follow – Employment Offer Letters & Non-Compete Agreements

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently released the revised Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9, which employers are required to use to verify the identity and employment authorization of newly hired employees. Starting May 7, 2013, employers must use the new Form I-9 (with a revision date of 03/08/13) to comply with their employment eligibility verification responsibilities. The new Form I-9 was first published by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on March 8, 2013, and had been authorized for use, along with the previous Form. Now, use of the new Form I-9 will be mandatory.
Continue Reading New Form I-9 Required Beginning May 7