Labor and Employment Law

Recent Posts

Fire for What!? - 6/5/2012
Posted on 5 Jun 2012 by Philip Miles

Welcome to a very special (and creepy) edition of Fired for What!? Ordinarily, I feature three great termination stories from around the web . . . but I'm willing to make an exception for this case. A Pennsylvania man has been arrested for using a... Read More

It’s Time to End Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Discrimination
Posted on 9 Oct 2013 by Jon Hyman

There is currently legislation pending in both the Ohio House [ H.B. 163 ] and Ohio Senate [ S.B. 125 ] that would include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the list of classes from which employees are protected from... Read More

New Jersey Recognizes Same Sex Marriages - Why it Matters for Pennsylvania Employers
Posted on 22 Oct 2013 by Philip Miles

On Monday, New Jersey became the fourteenth state to allow same sex marriages .A trial court ordered that such marriages would begin on Monday. Governor Christie appealed to the state Supreme Court, but after a an adverse preliminary ruling he saw the... Read More

Scranton, PA Becomes Employment Law Ground Zero
Posted on 18 Jul 2012 by Philip Miles

Scranton, PA is perhaps best known as the hometown of the fictional company Dunder Mifflin from The Office . It's actually a real town, and I have found that it has a certain charm. Recently, Scranton has drawn enormous media attention because its... Read More

Pennsylvania Unemployment Law: Taking Part-Time Work as an Independent Contractor
Posted on 8 Mar 2013 by John Gallagher

You are receiving $500 per week in Pennsylvania Unemployment Benefits and have been offered part-time work as an independent contractor, paying you $200 per week. You understand that if you earn 40% or less of your weekly Unemployment Benefit rate... Read More

What is a Necessitous and Compelling Reason for Quitting my Job Under Pennsylvania Unemployment Law?
Posted on 10 Apr 2012 by John Gallagher

You May Be Eligible For Unemployment In PA If You Quit Your Job If you quit your job, you may be eligible for PA unemployment benefits if you had a necessitous and compelling reason to quit . Here are some of the most common examples of a necessitous... Read More

Good News/Bad News for Wrongful Termination - COTW # 135
Posted on 22 Mar 2013 by Philip Miles

Another day, another court decision striking down an employee's attempt to bring a "wrongful termination" claim. The Pennsylvania Superior Court case is Mikhail v. Penn. Org. for Women in Early Recovery , 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 82 (slated... Read More

Top Ten Wage and Hour Developments in 2012 for Pennsylvania Employers
Posted on 9 Jan 2013 by McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

By Adam R. Long, Esq. For employers in Pennsylvania, 2012 was another eventful year in the world of wage and hour law. Even in the absence of new federal legislation, a number of noteworthy developments occurred at both the federal and state levels... Read More

Overly Broad Non-Compete Agreement in Pennsylvania?
Posted on 25 Mar 2013 by John Gallagher

Pennsylvania Courts Almost Never Throw Out Non-Compete Agreements Because They Are Overbroad Many clients have come to me convinced that their non-compete agreement is unenforceable because it is for too many years, or to too broad a geographic... Read More

Are Payroll Cards Illegal in Pennsylvania?
Posted on 20 Jun 2013 by Philip Miles

Are payroll cards illegal in Pennsylvania? Beats me. But we might find out soon. A former McDonald's employee is suing the franchisee for paying her through a debit card. Natalie Gunshannon, a single mother, 27, said she and other workers... Read More

Social Media Privacy Protection Act Pending in Pennsylvania
Posted on 9 Jul 2012 by Philip Miles

The Social Media Privacy Protection Act (available here) is new legislation pending in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The proposed legislation is a response to the near-universal outrage over employers requesting Facebook and other social media passwords... Read More

Am I Entitled to Unemployment in Pennsylvania if I Accept a Voluntary Lay-Off?
Posted on 27 Jan 2012 by John Gallagher

My Employer Said it Would Not Contest My Pennsylvania Unemployment Claim; What Does That Mean? I receive many phone calls from employees who accepted a voluntary lay-off ("reduction in force" or "RIF") with a promise from their... Read More

PA Federal Courts Analyze PHRA Disability Claims Under Pre-ADAAA Standards
Posted on 26 Aug 2014 by Steptoe & Johnson PLLC

by Julie Arbore The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled in Riley v. St. Mary’s Medical Center that, while the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (“ADAAA”) altered the federal standard for proving a... Read More

Collateral Estoppel and Unemployment Compensation Hearings
Posted on 18 Mar 2015 by Philip Miles

In the law, we have this concept called "collateral estoppel." The gist of it is that after a party litigates and loses on an issue once, the party may not litigate that issue again (sometimes called "issue preclusion"). It sounds... Read More

PA bill will protect privacy of employee social media passwords
Posted on 7 Jul 2012 by Eric Meyer

On June 18, 2012, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives introduced the Social Media Privacy Protection Act , which would protect the privacy of employee online user names and passwords. Which PA employers does this bill cover? All of them. More... Read More