Pennsylvania Employment Contracts Legal Questions

Much depends on the number of employees and your status an exempt or non-exempt employee under federal law but generally employers are not required to provide breaks.  if they do, there are rules on when an employer must pay you for the break.  Pertaining to the situation you relayed, your employer would be required to pay you for that "working lunch" assuming you are a non-exempt employee.  If you are an exempt employee, you would not be paid for that working lunch.... Read More

In what way do you think they did not follow a policy?  What impact, if any, did that have on you?  You should file for unemployment comp.  If your employer contests it, probably the max you can use any such breach would be as leverage for them to drop their contest of your claim. ... Read More

Well what they did to you really stinks -- no doubt about it.  I don't think you have a claim here because you can't prove that you would have received one of the jobs for which you didn't interview.  Even though what they did stinks, you might not want to burn a bridge.  You might ask the person to keep you in mind for future positions or ask if there are other positions open to which he/she can refer you. ... Read More

I see a couple of issues here to address. First is the after hours work.  Employees who do work "off the clock" are entitled to be compensated.  This has been a hot topic in wage and hour litigation, with big employers like Starbucks being sued in class action cases.  You are entitled to be paid for this time.  Your employer can pay you up to 15 days after your regular payday and still comply with Pennsylvania wage laws.  If you aren't paid the correct amount or in a timely fashion (or both), you have the right to sue your employer.  If successful, you are entitled to interest, penalties of 25% of the unpaid amount and attorneys fees.  You can retain an attorney to represent you.  Or you can file a complaint with the Pennsylvania Dept. of Labor, wage and hour division.  That's free but they aren't obligated to take your case and if they do, it'll be a much slower process. ... Read More

If that's the only reason for termination, then no its not illegal.  If a business is purchased, existing employees can be let go.  In some instances with larger employers, employees are entitled to advance notice of the possible termination.  Someone would need more facts to provide you with a more reliable response to your question.... Read More

Your employer is required to pay you in a timely fashion. The law says payments made beyond 15 days from the regularly scheduled payday are late and you would be entitled to interest and penalties.  If you've not discussed the timing issue with your employer, you should start there.  If you can't get the matter resolved, you can contact the PA Department of Labor, wage and hour division to file a complaint.... Read More

Yes, to me that says you are resigning or at least taking an unapproved leave of absence.  It might prevent you from getting unemployment benefits.  You might try and convince the UC office that you have a necessitous and compelling reason for leaving, i.e. taking care of a sick family member.  Is your company covered by the family medical leave act?  if so, you might consider requesting leave to care for your mother.  You might be permitted under fmla to take the leave that you seek. ... Read More

If you are salaried, why are you required to clock in/out?  Maybe you are misclassified as a salaried employee.  This is very common.  If you are properly classified as exempt (salaried) then it doesn't matter how many hours you work.  Perhaps your employer suspects you are misclassified and is trying to avoid a wage/hour problem.  You should consider consulting with an employment attorney to determine whether you are properly an exempt or non-exepmt (from overtime rules) employee. ... Read More

You clearly submitted your resignation effective two weeks after the date of notice.  They said we don't need the two weeks notice so your resignation is effective today.  I don't know what record you refer to but your employer may make a note of this in its own records for whatever reason.  There's no other "record" that is kept to my knowledge.... Read More

I'd be very angry if this happened to me.  I'd say your remedies depends on the circumstances of the disclosure.  If the info was stolen or hacked, you probably don't have a remedy.  If the info was disclosed by mistake by your employer, you make have some rights.  I think you should contact an attorney, go over the details and if your rights have been violated, think about what you want to do about it.  Monitoring your credit score and other on-line identity sources is probably the most important thing you can do.  Some of that you can do for free on your own, but maybe the right answer here is that your employer purchases a monitoring service for you. ... Read More

It is difficult to answer your question without knowing exactly what your original agreement provides, but I believe it very unlikely that the  non-compete provisoin would no longer be in force.  However, apart from your transfer, non-compete provisions are less favored than most contractual provisions, and the provision may not be enforceable if it is not considered reasonable and necessary to protect your employer's interests.  For example, most states will not enforce non-competes which run for longer than necesary, cover more geographical territory than necessary, and/or are applied to run of the mill employees who gained no special knowledge or relationships through their employment (for example, a non-compete is much less likely to be enforced against a fast food counter clerk than a doctor).... Read More

Unless there is a contractual provision in the employee's employment agreement limiting an employer's right to fire an employee, the employee can be fired for any reason not prohibited by statute (e.g. discrimination based on race, religion, etc.).  Publicly disparaging a customer is certainly grounds for termination.... Read More

Certainly if you were to retain an attorney, that person could communicate with your former employer and the contact from your employer to you would stop.  All future communications would be with your attorney.  It sounds like the dispute has gotten to the point of you needing to retain counsel.... Read More

Well your employer was probably wrong paying you under the table at any time.  Your employer did not pay taxes that you should have paid.  To the contrary, the employer owed the taxes.  He is not permitted to withhold your W-2 from you.  This is likely a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act or the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law.  You should either retain an attorney to pursue your remedies (and get attorneyes fees) or contact the PA Dept of Labor and file a wage complaint.  Here is a link to the wage complaint form:  http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=553573&mode=2  ... Read More

You might have a claim against the hiring employer for detrimental reliance.  The validity of your claim might depend on what you know might turn up on your background check and what you knew about what that employer might deem to be unacceptable for your offer.  To use and extreme example, if you were being hired to work at a daycare pending a background check and you know that you have a criminal record involving children in your recent past, then I'd say you have no claim.  You should take your offer and the details to an attorney to get specific advice and an assessment of your remedies. ... Read More

I'm not sure where to start here.  The one thing I can say is that if you are "laid off", you can get unemployment comp benefits.  Your employer can also ask you to take a pay cut -- and I'm assuming there is no collective bargaining agreement that governs you.  I'm not sure what you're really asking here.  Wage/hour matters are often highly specific and necessitate a detailed conversation and review of your paystubs and work hours.  I recommend that you speak with an attorney well-versed in employment law about your situation. ... Read More