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Employment Law

Beers, tears, almost 2 years: Thief apologizes to employer

07/24/2009

Paul Lesko was contrite when he appeared in Cumberland County court for sentencing following his conviction of embezzlement. While working for Westy Beer Distributor in Hampden Township, Lesko had taken more than $7,625 from owner James Yaple.

Phillies vs. Mets: At least this time, home fan disappointed

07/24/2009

When the New York Mets play in Philadelphia, they stay at the Westin Philadelphia in Center City. In August 2007, John Dunlap was staffing the hotel’s front door when he attempted to move the ropes back to make more room for the entering ball players. That’s when a New York fan cursed at him—and that’s where the trouble began …

Hacked! Limiting employer liability for breaches of employee data

07/24/2009

Imagine this nightmare scenario: You’ve contracted with a vendor to enter personnel data into a new computer system, including employees’ Social Security numbers, addresses, names of dependents, health records and bank account routing numbers. Then the vendor notifies you that employee data was somehow stolen or lost. What do you do?

Is FMLA leave optional when employee has adequate sick leave to cover her absence?

07/24/2009

Q. We have an employee who is going on eight weeks’ leave for a qualifying serious health condition. She isn’t requesting to use FMLA leave because she has enough paid sick leave. Can employees choose not to use FMLA leave even though they qualify?

Help! I’m confused about comp time, flextime

07/24/2009

Q. Can you please clarify if and when we can offer comp time to our employees? What’s the difference between comp time and flextime?

Can an employee earn sick time while out on workers’ comp?

07/24/2009

Q. One of our employees is out on workers’ comp. Our contract says “no sick time will be lost or deducted” while employees are out on workers’ comp. But now he wants to know if he continues to accrue sick time and holiday pay while not working. Does he?

Are we liable for wages we didn’t pay while employee was waiting for drug test results?

07/24/2009

Q. We suspected an employee was using drugs, so we sent him to be tested. We told him he couldn’t work until the test came back in two days. The results were negative. Do we owe him wages for those two days?

How can we legally combat tardiness?

07/24/2009

Q. Some of our admin assistants are good employees, but they’re constantly late. What can we do to get them to come to work on time?

Can we cut the pay of maxed-out employees?

07/24/2009

Q. We have some employees who are earning the maximum salary for their job classifications. Can we cut their pay if we feel they’re overpaid?

Employee filed EEOC suit? Stifle your anger

07/24/2009

Just heard an employee has filed an EEOC complaint against your company? Whatever you do, don’t lash out in anger! It’s one of the worst things you can do. Raising your voice, making threats or otherwise showing your displeasure are surefire recipes for more litigation.