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Employment Law

Supreme Court: Severance is FICA-taxable

04/01/2014
The U.S. Supreme Court on March 25 unanimously ruled that severance pay is subject to withholding of FICA taxes, which employers and employees pay to fund Social Security and Medicare.

How far must we go to accommodate a pregnant employee’s no-lifting request?

03/31/2014
Q. We have a pregnant employee who works as a nurse and has asked that she be excused from lifting patients during her pregnancy. Do we have to grant her request?

Could we be penalized for misclassification?

03/31/2014
Q. We have some employees that have been misclassified as exempt. We are working to rectify the situation, but could we still be penalized for the time the employee was misclassified?

Could questioning an employee about an incident be considered assault?

03/31/2014
Q. One of our employees was involved in an incident and questioned regarding suspected ­wrongdoing. He is now bringing a suit against the company, alleging that the act of being brought into a room and questioned at length constitutes false imprisonment and that the aggressive questioning constituted assault. Does he have a case?

Can an HR professional have personal liability for employment decisions?

03/31/2014
Q. As an HR professional, do I have personal liability for my participation in employment decisions?

Managing the multigenerational workforce

03/31/2014
The current workforce consists of four generations with unique strengths, values, expectations and, perhaps, limitations. Used poorly, generation-specific employment practices could create legal liabilities.

Manager allegedly ordered to hire only ‘All-American girls’

03/31/2014
The former manager of the Milk Shake Factory ice cream parlor in Pitts­­burgh has filed a complaint alleging she was fired for disobeying the company’s discriminatory hiring guidelines. When she was hired to manage the store, the company gave her complete autonomy to hire subordinates as long as they were the “All-American girl” type.

Octogenarian secretary sues Catholic Diocese over firing

03/31/2014
An 80-year-old secretary who had held her position at St. Joseph’s Elementary School in York was terminated after months of what she claims was harassment aimed at ­driving her out of her job.

Fired during lactation probe, Wawa worker returns

03/31/2014
A Bethlehem Wawa convenience store violated the FLSA when it refused to provide an appropriate place for an employee to express breast milk, according to investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

Set one standard for tardiness, stick with it

03/31/2014
Make sure you set one standard for determining how late “tardy“ is and how it’s measured. The best bet: Use a time clock.