Publications

A court opinion two weeks ago denying summary judgment, and letting the case proceed to trial, provides a helpful list of “red flags” that should signal to any employer that it might want to step back from terminating a long-serving worker. In Rysak v. Ferro Corp., pending in federal court in Philadelphia, Judge Timothy Savage […]

A teenager interviewing for an entry level job at McDonald’s on City Line Avenue in Philadelphia was stunned when the hiring manager whipped out his phone during her interview and began showing her sexually graphic photos, and asking about her personal life, relationship status and sexuality. She was offered the job, but declined it after

New Jersey’s new “Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights” took effect May 7, and requires Garden State employers who use workers from temp firms to comply with new equal pay and notice requirements. The statute, the nation’s most comprehensive one of its kind, protects contingent workers assigned to an employer by a “temporary help service firm”

I. Introduction “Employment at-will,” the bedrock principle of American labor and employment law, makes it sound so easy and simple: “Employment at-will provides that absent express agreement to the contrary, either employer or employee may terminate their relationship at any time, for any reason.” Black’s Law Dictionary, at 525 (6th ed. 1990). When advising clients,

Ready, Aim, Mis-Fire Injured Hunter Might Have FMLA Claim. At first glance, it’s hard to blame Devon Facility Management, LLC for firing Allen Pohutski. Pohutski requested 11 days off from work in November of 2015. When the company denied the request, Pohutski then submitted an email to his boss the day before the rejected vacation,

OSHA Rules for College Sports? Our friends at law firm Ogletree Deakins raise an interesting issue for colleges and universities to consider: now that the National Labor Relations Board has decreed that student-athletes may be protected as employees and entitled to collective bargaining and other employment rights, can we expect the Occupational Safety and Health

Child Labor and Unhappy Meals. The next time you see those innocent, smiling teenagers working the counter, fryer, or drive-through window at your local fast-food joint, consider whether they are laboring illegally. Apparently, those kids may “have the beef,” even though the restaurants claim they’re “lovin’ it.” Federal investigators announced in December that they had

Teacher Spells Out the ABCs of LGBTQ+ Protections. The issue is making headlines almost daily: how much leeway does a school or a local government have to dictate policies and teacher conduct in relation to LGBTQ+ rights and advocacy? Michelle MacDonald, a high school English teacher in Maine, just found a novel way to protect

New Federal Law Limits Employers’ Ability to Muzzle Sexual Harassment Claims. President Biden also has signed into law the “Speak Out Act,” prohibiting employers from enforcing pre-dispute non-disclosure and non-disparagement clauses regarding sexual assault and sexual harassment. Congress states in the new law (available here) that non-disclosure and non-disparagement provisions “can perpetuate illegal conduct by

One Year In – Where Is the Surge of Sexual Harassment Lawsuits? In March of 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021, limiting the ability of private parties to mandate arbitration of such claims under the Federal Arbitration Act. The law was