Publications

Courts Going to the Dogs – in a Nice Way. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that trial courts may allow “comfort dogs” for witnesses at criminal trials, holding it was not error for a trial court to allow a child with autism to have such an animal at his feet during his testimony. In […]

Demographic changes in the United States may lead to more varied claims of race discrimination in employment, especially with regard to employees who come from the growing population of mixed-race families. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the “multiracial population” of the nation surged 276 percent in the past decade, up from 9 million people

Drafting Error Lets Employee Terminate Non-compete. A financial advisor’s employment agreement stated that she could not compete for a one-year period “following the termination of [her] employment for whatever reason.” Unfortunately for the employer, a separate provision in the agreement gave the employee the right to nullify the restriction, stating that “[e]mployment is at will”

¡Ay, caramba! Assistant Managers Pepper Taco Bell with Overtime Claims. A federal judge in Pennsylvania this week approved conditional certification of a collective action lawsuit for overtime pay against Taco Bell on behalf of 900 assistant managers. The assistant managers, led by named plaintiff Carrie Gallagher, claim that Taco Bell franchisee Charter Foods Inc. and

Congress Moves Toward Easier Standard to Prove Age Discrimination. We usually do not report on proposed legislation or bills, but this one is important enough for an update – and seems to have the bipartisan and White House backing that could make it law soon. Last week the House of Representatives passed a bill by

Starbucks Gets a Slappucino from Labor Board. The National Labor Relations Board has ordered Starbucks to rehire two Philadelphia baristas who were fired after leading unionization campaigns and otherwise protesting the terms and conditions of employment. In a decision issued June 21, the Board concluded that Echo Nowakowska and Trista Bussiere would not have been

News Flash: Dunkin Donuts Visits Not Protected by FMLA. Since it became law in 1993, the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) has given millions of workers job-protected leave to care for their own health and family members with serious health conditions. But the law can be abused. Case in point is VanHook v. Cooper

The 10 Commandments of Returning to Work After Covid. Recent surveys and client calls indicate that a majority of employers soon will be returning to work in their offices, plants and factories, if they have not done so already. The legal and health issues can be overwhelming. Therefore, following in the footsteps of one of

California Dreaming about Noncompete Ban in D.C. The District of Columbia has passed the Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act, which could make Washington, D.C. the most easterly U.S. jurisdiction to generally prohibit such restrictive covenants in employment. California, North Dakota and Oklahoma already have broad limitations on such non-compete agreements, leading some employees and

The Pandemic Death of a Salesman Exemption? A commonly used exemption to federal and state overtime laws is the “outside sales” exemption, which generally provides that such sales representatives are not entitled to overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 per week. Importantly, the exemption also relieves employers of the duty to pay