Recent Posts in Employment Law Category
Posted on Mar 6, 2012 By Charles V. Curley
I recently rented the movie Horrible Bosses on demand. Now I'm no movie critic and my teenage children disagree with me but I thought it was, in a word, horrible. But that doesn't mean that ...
Continue reading "Is it Illegal to be a Horrible Boss?" »
Posted on Feb 28, 2012 By Charles V. Curley
The Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law, 43 Pa. Stat. Ann. 260.1 et seq ("WPCL") is a powerful tool for employees but to be successful an employee must prove that the money he did ...
Continue reading "Is it a Wage? Understanding Pennsylvania's Wage Payment and Collection Law" »
Posted on Feb 23, 2012 By Charles V. Curley
Many small businesses have been shocked when they learn that they have been victimized by a trusted employee's embezzlement. But after the shock it is time to put all efforts toward recovery of as ...
Continue reading "Recovering from Embezzlement: Coordinating Restitution" »
Posted on Feb 22, 2012 By Charles V. Curley
These days small businesses are looking for all sorts of ways to cut down on expenses. When you pull up your Quickbooks pie chart it is no surprise that one of the biggest expenses is labor. Although ...
Continue reading "Independent Contractors or Employees: It's Not Up to You" »
Posted on Feb 27, 2011 By Charles Curley
On February 11, 2011 the Construction Workplace Misclassification Act went into effect in Pennsylvania. The Act is designed to prevent construction employers from labeling certain employees as ...
Continue reading "Construction Companies Beware of Misclassifying Independent Contractors" »
Posted on Feb 5, 2011 By Charles Curley
One of the first things to consider when you are on either side of a non-compete case is whether there is a clause in the agreement that awards attorney fees to the prevailing party. There is no doubt ...
Continue reading "Attorneys Fees: The Big Hammer in Employment Cases " »
Posted on Jan 20, 2011 By Charles Curley
One of the first considerations for an employee under a restrictive covenant (or non-compete) is whether he should quit and start his new job as quietly as possible; or whether he should discuss it ...
Continue reading "Weighing Your Early Options in a Non-Compete Case " »
Posted on Jan 19, 2011 By Charles Curley
A recent decision out of the Federal District Court in Pennsylvania reminds employers how difficult it can be to properly classify employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"). In Cuttic v. ...
Continue reading "Interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act Is Not Always as it Appears " »
Posted on Jan 9, 2011 By Charles Curley
A recent case decided out of the Federal District Court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania demonstrates the importance of strictly following administrative procedure to preserve an employment ...
Continue reading "Following Procedure and Preserving Your Discrimination Case " »
Posted on Dec 27, 2010 By Charles Curley
Winding down a company during these tough economic times can be quite difficult. A company's decision makers need to be careful to use any available cash for the best interest of the company and its ...
Continue reading "Personal Liability under Pennsylvania's Wage Payment Law " »
Posted on Dec 24, 2010 By Charles Curley
With so many employee discrimination cases decided by what's in the personnel file, you would think that employers would take better care at ensuring accuracy. Sure, you can be certain to have the ...
Continue reading "Tis' the Season: Year-End Employee Evaluations" »
Posted on Dec 13, 2010 By Charles Curley
It's a tough spot for employers. The concept of "free speech" even if it doesn't really exist in a constitutional sense in a private workplace, is very much a part of American culture. So, companies ...
Continue reading "Disciplining Employees over Social Networking " »
Posted on Dec 8, 2010 By Charles Curley
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) offers a lot of coverage. At least that is the way that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sees it. In a recent case the EEOC took up a ...
Continue reading "A Broad Interpretation of the Americans with Disabilities Act " »
Posted on Nov 30, 2010 By Charles Curley
Over the holidays you may get a call from a friend or a relative looking for some work for her college aged son or daughter to (let's be kind) boost the resume. The closer is: he'll work for ...
Continue reading "Make Sure Your Volunteer Workers are Real Volunteers " »
Posted on Nov 29, 2010 By Charles Curley
There are generally two ways for a business to make more money: increase revenues or reduce expenses. As you do a little year end reflection on these two aspects of your company consider having some ...
Continue reading "Year End Review: Do You have an Embezzlement Problem? " »
Posted on Nov 22, 2010 By Charles Curley
Aside from being asked if we know any tricks to avoid jury duty (and we don't--so don't ask), the other jury question that we handle from time-to-time is whether an employee should be paid during her ...
Continue reading "Jury Duty and Employment Rights " »
Posted on Nov 17, 2010 By Charles Curley
It's a good idea to get off on the right foot in an employment relationship. It's even more important to get it in writing. In a very recent case from the Federal District Court of New Jersey, Qile ...
Continue reading "Make Sure it's in the Employment Agreement " »
Posted on Nov 15, 2010 By Charles Curley
Employer and employees alike are often unclear on the impact that paying or accepting severance has on the right to receive unemployment compensation. A recent Commonwealth Court decision in ...
Continue reading "Severance Packages and Unemployment Benefits " »
Posted on Nov 12, 2010 By Charles Curley
Employers cannot be too careful in their communications with employees, especially when it relates to retirement decisions. Recently the Third Circuit Court of Appeals handed down an ERISA ruling in ...
Continue reading "Pitfalls of Employee Communications " »