HR Specialist: Pennslyvania Employment Law

Jurors in Pennsylvania are notoriously generous to fired employees. And that’s just the beginning. Aggressive attorneys don’t stop with federal laws like FMLA, ADA and FLSA: they use state and local living-wage statutes, rural codes, plus discrimination and other laws to sue employers for sky’s-the-limit damages. This Pennsylvania-specific newsletter arrives monthly to help sue-proof every aspect of HR. Written in plain English, it’s your insurance policy for staying in step with current interpretations of state and local laws – and staying out of court. Learn more about HR Specialist: Pennsylvania Employment Law and the free report you’ll get when you subscribe...
 .

Here’s a lesson to pass on to managers and supervisors: Employees who win FMLA lawsuits after being denied the right to take leave can end up with a large pot of gold at the end of the litigation—a pot that has to be filled by the company.

Recent case: Melissa Brown claimed she was fired from her job with Nutrition Management Services because she was pregnant. She sued, charging she had been denied her right to take FMLA leave.

A jury agreed with her, awarding $74,000 in back pay after a seven-day trial.

But that wasn’t the end of the matter. The court more than doubled the jury award and added her attorneys’ fees and costs, for a total tab of $318,000. (Brown v. Nutrition Management Services, No. 06-2034, ED PA, 2009)