According to phillyburbs.com, former administrator and hockey manager, Ryan Abramson, was terminated from employment at Holy Ghost Preparatory after an internal investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct dating back...more
Whistleblower claims of all types generally require proof of three elements; a complaint of conduct believed to be unlawful (protected activity), some form of discipline (an adverse action), and proof that the adverse action...more
Fear of COVID-19 was not a valid reason for walking off the job, according to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania’s recent decision. Shortly after the lockdown orders were issued by Gov. Tom Wolf in March 2020, a Certified...more
Pennsylvania employers understand and support unemployment compensation as a safety net for employees who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. What is frustrating for an employer, however, is financing unemployment...more
Innocent mistakes are an unfortunate reality in our fast-paced, technology-driven society. But an employer does not have to tolerate an employee doubling down on his mistake by deceiving his employer and actively impeding an...more
Roseanne Barr, known for her big mouth and abrasive humor, is no stranger to controversy. (I still cringe when I recall her rendition of the national anthem.) Unfortunately for her, and the more than 200 people who worked on...more
May an employer fire an employee for lying about the reason for an absence? In a recent decision, the Connecticut Appellate Court said “yes.” Orlando Martinez worked for Polar Industries as a machine operator. He was...more
Many people enjoy spouting off what they view as 140-character tidbits of wisdom on the social media platform Twitter. But recently several individuals have found themselves in trouble with their employers (read: former...more
The longstanding statutory definition of “willful misconduct” that would disqualify an unemployment insurance claimant has been “the deliberate and willful violation of a reasonable rule or policy of the employing unit,...more
A federal appeals court issued a decision on January 5, 2016 that provides valuable lessons to both human resources executives and the businesses they work for. The court upheld the termination of an HR Director after his...more
Last year, I wrote about an unsuccessful attempt to vacate a puzzling arbitration award that overturned the termination of a school custodian who made threats of violence. In a decision that was officially issued on October...more
Ask any school teacher and they will tell you, the key to maintaining an orderly classroom is identifying the instigator. The "instigator" is the young boy or girl (let’s be honest, usually boy) who does or says something to...more
You may remember that I stirred up some contentiousness a few weeks ago when I suggested that employers should not challenge unemployment claims except in the worst cases. ...more
In Weber v. Fujifilm Medical Systems USA Inc., et al., case numbers 13-4891 and 14-0206, decided on October 9, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a former executive’s employer could use...more
On October 9, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in a summary order, affirmed a district court’s admission of evidence at trial of a former employee’s misconduct, discovered after the employee’s...more
On July 3, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) handed down a decision in the case of Consolidated Communications d/b/a Illinois Consolidated Telephone Co. and Local 702, Int'l Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,...more
The National Labor Relations Board recently issued a somewhat surprising decision that provides useful guidance to employers facing employee misconduct. In Flex Frac Logistics, LLC, the Board found that an employee's...more
A Pennsylvania man lost his job in September 2012 and is now without unemployment compensation. Why? He called his boss a "clown."...more