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...
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If an employee rebuffs your offers to consider her for ADA accommodations or FMLA leave, make sure you document her desires. That way, she can’t come back later and claim you didn’t accommodate her or give her leave.

Recent case: Melanie Galimore-Roberts worked part time for UPS. When she began having medical problems and missed work, her supervisor told her she might be eligible for ADA accommodations or FMLA leave. Her boss told her to contact HR if she was interested. She denied needing either.

Later, after she was fired for excessive absences, she sued.

The court said she couldn’t turn down an offer for leave and then sue for not getting it. (Galimore-Roberts v. UPS, No. 08-1036, ED PA, 2009)