The Supreme Court of the United States held today that arbitration agreements, which waive the right to proceed as part of a class or collective action, are enforceable in the employment context. In Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, the Court held that employment agreements that call for individualized arbitration proceedings to resolve workplace disputes
Termination
Is the Inability to Perform the Required Duties of the Job Just Cause for a Public Employee’s Discharge? It Depends. (PART II)
By Langdon Ramsburg on
Yesterday, we reported on a Commonwealth Court decision that basically concluded that an arbitrator’s award ordering the reinstatement of a discharged employee who is incapable of performing his job violates the “essence test.” We also noted that a subsequent decision of the court seems to be a bit in conflict with that holding. Let’s take…
Is the Inability to Perform the Required Duties of the Job Just Cause for a Public Employee’s Discharge? It Depends. (PART I)
By Langdon Ramsburg on
In November 2017, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania issued an opinion concerning an arbitrator’s reinstatement of a state correctional officer (“CO”). The CO was responsible for monitoring inmates who worked on the prison’s loading dock. As far back as 2015, the CO’s supervisors noticed unauthorized food items in the dock area. Despite instruction to remove…
Recent Pennsylvania Court Decision Highlights Enforceability of Non-Solicitation Agreements
By Eric Athey on
Every year, Pennsylvania’s appellate courts seem to issue a handful of decisions addressing the enforceability of non-compete agreements. However, there are relatively few court decisions addressing non-solicitation agreements. A non-solicitation agreement is the less restrictive cousin of the non-compete. Under a non-solicitation agreement, a former employee is permitted to work anywhere, including competitors of his…
Third Circuit Holds that A Single Word Can Lead to Liability for Hostile Work Environment
By Micah T. Saul 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,…
Discharged Employee Not an “Employee” Under Personnel Files Act
By Mark Hipple on
Posted in Employer Liability, Termination
The Pennsylvania Personnel Files Act (also known as the Inspection of Employment Records Law), grants employees in Pennsylvania, or their designated agents, the right to inspect certain portions of their personnel records. The Act requires employers, upon an employee’s request, to permit the employee to inspect the portions of his or her personnel file used…
The “Honest Belief” Defense Comes to the Third Circuit
By Mark Hipple on
In the Third Circuit, an employer’s honest belief that an employee committed misconduct can now serve as a defense to a retaliation claim under the FMLA. With the recent decision in Capps v. Mondelez Global, LLC (found here) the Third Circuit joins the Seventh, Eighth and Tenth Circuits in providing such a defense.
In…
To Enforce a Call-off Policy or Not to Enforce a Call-off Policy; that is the Question
By Adam Santucci on
This post was contributed by Erica Townes, a McNees Summer Associate. Ms. Townes is a rising third year law student at the Widener University Commonwealth Law School and is expected to earn her J.D. in May of 2017.
Recently you’ve noticed that an employee takes FMLA-covered leave the same week every year or always seems…
But I Didn’t Mean To! U.S. Supreme Court Says Employer Intentions Govern in First Amendment Retaliation Case
By Crystal Clark on
For government employers, disciplining and terminating employees can be especially difficult. Not only does the public employer face the same challenges in complying with the standard alphabet soup of employment laws that private employers do, including the ADA, ADEA, FMLA, Title VII, etc., they also have the complicated task of considering the application of an…
Excessive Overtime in Healthcare Act Provides Basis for Wrongful Termination Action
By John U. Baker on
In a recent opinion, the Pennsylvania Superior Court upheld a judgment in favor of a healthcare employee that alleged wrongful termination of employment following her repeated refusal to work mandatory overtime. The judgment included damages of $121,869.93 and an order reinstating the employee to her former position. The Court’s opinion focused on the question of…