Pennsylvania Employment Legal Questions

Well first thing -- congratulatons on your new baby!  That's a wonderful time.  I have 3 kids myself.  As for your legal question, in order to be eligible for benefits you must be available for work.  If you were not able to work due to your recovery from delivery, then you were also ineligible for benefits.  The availability of time off from your prior work is not a factor in this.  Sorry!... Read More

Yes you should retain counsel to help you with the unemployment appeal.  The facts are crucial to the outcome of the case.  I don't quite understand how your FMLA leave impacts your unemployment.  Why were you separated from employer and what led to the application for benefits?... Read More

I'm sorry you lost your job.  Its frustrating to no end to feel that people are talking about you, especially in a negative light.  If your employer is sharing information that is entitled to a privacy protection under the law, such as medical information about you or other financial information, then I'd say maybe you have a complaint.  If the info is simply derogatory in nature but not necessary protected information, then your only potential claim might be for defamation if the information is false.  You'll need to connect the false statements with some type of negative impact on your -- such as it leading to your termination.  Those are difficult cases to prove and win. ... Read More

Maybe.  did she find a place for you?  Your employer may be required to provide a reasonable accommodation.  However if the nature of your job duties don't allow that or if the accommodation costs the employer too much money, you may not have a remedy.  For example, if you were a football player and your doctor said you can't be tackled, your employer wouldn't be required to provide you a spot on the team that allows you to be paid but avoid being tackled. ... Read More

There are no state or federal laws establishing a employment disciplinary procedure that are widely applicable to all employees.  Your employer can terminate your employment without any warning in most instances.  If your employer has a written employee policy that sets forth a disciplinary procedure that includes levels of warnings prior to terminate and that is not followed, it can help you qualify for unemployment compensation if your application is challenged. ... Read More

It might be discrimination from the standpoint of an employer favoring employees who are flexible about schedule changes vs. those who are not but that's not illegal discrimination.  Discrimination based upon age, gender, race, religion is unlawful.  You don't necessarily have a protected right in your scheduled day off.  If its a day off for a religious observance that's truly important to you, then maybe. ... Read More

Under Pennsylvania law, wages due and owing must be paid no later than 15 days after the normal date.  For example, if paychecks are issued on the first of the month, the latest the pay that is due on the first of the month could be paid and not violate PA law is the 15th.  In your case, the pay is long overdue.  Employers can be required to pay penalties and interest on overdue payments.  Most in this situation balance rocking the boat with their employer and getting the pay they are due.  Best bet is to be pesistent about it.  squeaky wheel gets the grease. If that doesn't work, can always retain counsel to send a letter requesting that the matter be resolved.... Read More

Your employer can certainly cut your hours without notice.  Whether you continue to qualify for benefits depends on what the published qualifications are for your company's benefits and whether you actually meet those qualifications.  How you're "labeled" doesn't really matter.  Typically a company will set forth a minimum number of average hours per week or month in order to qualify for benefits.  That's what I'd focus on if I were you. ... Read More

Hostile work environment usually means a condition caused by or permitted to happen by your employer.  co-workers who do things can lead to a hostile work environment claim if they are known by your employer and permmitted to continue w/o action.  What you describe is not a hostile work environment.  It's not illegal for your co-worker to record a converstaion (not over the phone) and then play it back. It may violate common sense of privacy but its not a hostile work environment. ... Read More

Maybe.  It's just not that simple.  This fact pattern is common.  Usually there are a lot of additional facts that impact the evaluation of the case, incluidng the differences between your job duties and the younger person who was hired.  If you get called back, you don't really have damages.  I think if you called an attorney, they'd probably tell you to wait and see what happens about your call back. ... Read More

Your employer can’t require a current employee to have any type of medical examination unless the examination is job-related and consistent with business necessity, required by another federal law, or required in connection with a voluntary wellness program.  so my first question is whether you are even required to take the exam.  Time spent undergoing a physical examination is time during which the employee's freedom of movement is restricted for the purpose of serving the employer and time during which the employee is subject to the employer's discretion and control. It is immaterial whether the time spent in undergoing the required physical examination is during the employee's normal working hours or during nonworking hours. The physical examination is an essential requirement of the job and thus primarily for the benefit of the employer.  As such, you should be paid your hourly wage for the time you expend attending an employer-required physical exam.  It does not have to be done during your normal working hours.  If it is not during normal hours and the time you take for the exam puts you over 40 hours for that week, you should be entitled to overtime pay if you are a non-exempt employee.  ... Read More

There is a concept called rounding up and rounding down in wage and hour rules that allows an employer to "change" your actual times clock times -- or at least pay you for time that doesn't exactly match up with your clock times but it has to work according to set rules and the employer has no "say so" on whether you are rounded up or down for a particular day.  If your employer is regualry changing your clock times to show that you work only 40 hours in a week, that's probably a violation of the Fair labor Standards Act. PA wage payment and collection law and you should be entitled to back pay plus statutory interest and penalties.  You should raise this matter with your employer or retain an attorney to get involved on your behalf.... Read More

I would think the OSHA violation is a secondary matter.  The most pressing concern would be for you to report the injury to your employer and seek medical attention.  You are required under the Workers Comp Act to report injuries within 120 days.  Your employer and its insurance carrier are required to investigate the claim and send you a response on what benefits you can receive as a result.  If it is a compensable claim, that'll likely give you the economic losses you need.  Reporting to OSHA won't get you much.  Better to ask your employer to address the safety concern.... Read More

Being suspended, especially when you feel that you're being treated unfairly, really stinks -- I'm sorry you're experiencing this.  The employer is generally required to follow its own work policies that are published to employees but it they do not, there little consequence to that except if you were terminated and the employer contested your application for unemployment benefits.  Hopefully things don't go that far for you.... Read More

The short answer is "maybe".  I'd want to know more about his job and duties in order to determine whether he's properly classifed as an "exempt" employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  If he's "exempt", the employer can pay him on a salaried basis and he would not be eligible for overtime and other protections.  Is he working in Pennsylvania?  If so, Pennsylvania's laws, might afford him additional protections.  Misclassification of employees as exempt when they should be non-exempt is very common. ... Read More

Your college probably has a compliance officer or compliance hotline of some kind.  I think its required to have one.  See if you can find that. If so, you should be able file a complaint/register a concern annonymously about the matter. "make the numbers look better" could mean a lot of things and doesn't necessarily mean fraud, etc so be careful about saying something untrue about someone else.  That could be defamatory. ... Read More