By: Michelle Patrick, Esquire For years, courts in Pennsylvania have determined that non-compete agreements signed after an employee was already employed were not enforceable unless additional consideration had been tendered for the non-compete. Retaining the job was not enough to constitute additional consideration.  On June 16, 2020 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court clarified that rule holding that there are situations in which non-compete agreements signed during an employee’s tenure do not need additional consideration to be binding. See Rullex Co., LLC v. Tel–Stream, Inc., 2020 Continue reading →

By: Jacqueline M. Woolley, Esq. On Monday, June 15 the United States Supreme Court issued a momentous decision in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, declaring it unlawful for employers to discriminate against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees in the workplace. The Court concluded that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), which protects individuals in the workplace from being discriminated against based on their sex, also protects LGBTQ workers because employers who discriminate against employees based on Continue reading →

By: Michelle D. Patrick, Esq.   As the country starts to re-open employees are being called back to work. School is over in many places and in the past, employees would have made childcare arrangements using camps or daycares. However, in many areas summer camps are not opening, either now or at all, and daycares are not reopening or reopening in a limited capacity. What can you do, are there any leave options available? The Federal Family Cares Relief Act (FFCRA) was created, in part, Continue reading →

By: Jacqueline M. Woolley, Esq. In an effort to expand employees’ workplace protections in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Democratic governmental leaders last week introduced a bill called The Emergency Limitation Periods Extensions for Workers Act, which proposes extending the applicable statute of limitations periods for the filing of claims under certain labor and employment laws.  Specifically, the legislation aims to extend the limitations periods by the amount of time overlapping the COVID-19 national emergency, plus an additional 90 days after the pandemic is Continue reading →

By: Michelle D. Patrick, Esq.   As businesses across the country start to re-open, it is time for many of us to return to the workplace. However the workplace we are used to is not, and should not be, the workplace to which we return. It is clear that the coronavirus is not going away anytime soon and experts are recommending that employers implement measures to protect their employees and customers. Examples of protective measures include employees wearing protective equipment and practicing social distancing. What Continue reading →

By: Michelle D. Patrick, Esquire In 2009 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), the federal agency that enforces the federal anti-discrimination laws, issued its “Pandemic Preparedness in the Workplace and Americans with Disabilities Act” (hereinafter “EEOC guidance”) to guide employers and employers during the H1N1 swine flu outbreak. It recently updated and re-issued that document to clarify how it pertains to the Coronavirus pandemic.  EEOC guidance makes it clear that nothing in the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) or the Rehabilitation Act should prevent employers Continue reading →

By: Jacqueline M. Woolley, Esq. Employees and employers alike need to be aware of their rights and obligations under the new Federal legislation which provides for paid leave under several circumstances related to the coronavirus. They are described below. If you have questions or concerns, either as an employee or employer, regarding these new requirements you can reach us for legal advice at 610-660-5585. Families First Coronavirus Response Act On March 18, 2020 the United States Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) Continue reading →

By: Michelle D. Patrick, Esq.   On March 18th, 2020 the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” (“FFCRA”) was signed into law. The goal of the FFCRA is to provide relief to workers during this unprecedented pandemic. Essentially, the FFCRA requires that covered employers, private employers with less than 500 employees and government employers, provide covered employees with emergency sick and/or Family and Medical Leave Act leave (“FMLA”) leave if they are unable to work due to COVID-19 illness or restrictions. For example, the FFCRA applies Continue reading →

By: Michelle Patrick, Esq. Sadly, the answer is “it depends.” The employment laws in our country do not require that employees treat each other nicely or with respect. Nor do they specifically outlaw bullying. What they do provide is that an employee not be treated differently from other employees because he/she is a member of a protected class. Protected classes include race, age, sex, religion, national original, pregnancy and disability, and under some laws, sexual orientation. Take, for example, a male manager who excludes a Continue reading →

  By: Michelle Patrick, Esq. January 2020 New Jersey has joined the ranks of a handful of states to prohibit discrimination based on hairstyle. In December 2018 video surfaced from South Jersey of a trainer cutting off an African-American high-school wrestler’s dreadlocks. We learned that the teenager was forced to choose between cutting off his dreadlocks or forfeiting his match. One year later to the day, December 19, 2019, the “Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair Act” (“CROWN Act”) was signed into Continue reading →