Q: Can my company refuse to hire or terminate an individual because the individual is a medical marijuana user?

A: Not necessarily.  While we have not seen any laws to date explicitly requiring employers to accommodate employees’ use of marijuana for medicinal purposes while at work, in some states at least, employers may not terminate employees for their use of medical marijuana outside of the workplace, even if it means that the employee tests positive in a drug screen.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, what better way to celebrate than to examine the pitfalls of office romances? The “Me Too” era is still in full swing, and it is subjecting employers to more scrutiny than ever. Have you considered how to best handle office romances between employees…

Q.  Can two business entities agree not to hire each other’s employees?

A.  On January 11, an en banc panel of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed a trial court’s decision declaring that a no-hire provision in a commercial contract between two businesses was void and unenforceable under Pennsylvania law.…

Q.  I’m the HR Director of a large company that is planning a reduction in force in one of our divisions. We intend to offer early retirement incentives to some of the individuals, contingent on them signing an agreement to waive all future claims against the company under the applicable discrimination laws, including the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).  What information needs to be included in the waiver to comply with ADEA requirements?

A.  Companies with plans to implement a reduction in force should proceed with caution following a recent decision in which the court found that a waiver and release of claims signed by an outgoing employee violated federal age discrimination laws. On January 11, 2019, in Ray v. AT&T Mobility Services, LLC, a federal judge in the Eastern District Pennsylvania held that AT&T violated the ADEA by giving employees a waiver that failed to meet the strict informational requirements of the Older Worker Benefit Protection Act (“OWBPA”).  The court found that the waiver lacked sufficient details regarding members of the overall decisional group, and therefore, affected employees did not have the information necessary to make an informed decision about whether to waive their right to assert claims against the company under the ADEA.

As we covered last year, the United States Supreme Court held in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis that employment contracts can legally bar employees from collective arbitration (and require instead individualized proceedings). The Supreme Court found that a provision forbidding collective arbitration violated neither the Federal Arbitration Act nor the…

Q: Does using social media advertisements targeted to younger potential applicants raise age discrimination concerns?

A: The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) makes it illegal to discriminate against workers over the age of 40 in employment advertising, recruiting, hiring, and other employment opportunities.  The publication provision of the ADEA generally makes it unlawful to “print or publish” job notices or advertisements “indicating any preference, limitation, specification or discrimination, based on age.”  Age preferences for younger employees are only appropriate when age is demonstrated as a bona fide occupational qualification that is reasonably necessary for the normal operation of the business.

Perhaps before the year-end holidays kicked in, you might have noticed that on Friday, December 14, 2018, a Texas judge struck down the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) as unconstitutional in its entirety.  The judge held that since 2017’s tax bill effectively eliminated the penalty for violations of the ACA’s individual…

Q: I have employees in Connecticut.  What do I need to know about the new pay equity law?

A:  Effective January 1, 2019, employers are not allowed to: (1) inquire (whether directly or through a third party) about a prospective employee’s wage history; or (2) prohibit employees from disclosing or discussing the amount of their wages or the wages of another employee that has been voluntarily disclosed by the other employee.

Do you monitor your employees using technology?  Would you consider making them wear wristbands or other devices capturing their every move?

This spring, news spread that Amazon had been granted two patents for a new wristband that appeared to be designed to do just that for its warehouse and fulfillment…

Q.  Can you explain to me Philadelphia’s new Fair Workweek Ordinance?

A.  In late December 2018, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney signed an Ordinance that will require large fast-food chains, retailers, and hotels to provide employees with advance notice of their schedules and a variety of other protections. The Ordinance—known as the “Fair Workweek” Ordinance—requires certain Philadelphia employers to provide employees with at least two weeks’ advance notice of their schedules, offer remuneration to employees if their schedules are changed, and provide minimum periods of rest in between shifts. The Ordinance is similar to ordinances adopted in New York, San Francisco, and other large cities.  It is scheduled to become effective on January 1, 2020.