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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As one of the largest investment management companies in the nation, Malvern-based Vanguard Group is used to making money, not paying it out. That could change now that the firm has been sued for racial discrimination after allegedly refusing to hire a black applicant for a high-level finance job.

According to a lawsuit filed by the EEOC, Barbara Alexander applied for a position as a financial planning manager with Vanguard. She holds a master’s degree in finance and has financial planning experience. Throughout the interview process, she was told she was well qualified for the position.

Nevertheless, Vanguard later sent her a letter claiming her lack of a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) credential disqualified her from the position.

But EEOC investigators found that Vanguard filled the position with a white applicant who also lacked the CFP credential and had no financial planning experience. The EEOC attempted to conciliate the dispute, but failed.

Vanguard will now have to defend its actions in federal court.