Exit Interviews – Do the Benefits Outweigh the Risks? In The Legal Intelligencer

April 30, 2019

Roughly three out of four large U.S. employers utilize exit interviews, which are considered a low-risk, low-cost way to acquire valuable information. However, companies who approach exit interviews with an “auto-pilot” mentality may expose themselves to increased employment liability if they do not think strategically about how and why they conduct such interviews. Conversely, a robust exit interview program may reduce a company’s exposure to certain types of prospective liability, such as whistleblower claims. Likewise, exit interviews can combat against disclosure of a company’s trade secrets. Depending upon a company’s industry, culture and processes, conducting exit interviews may or may not be advisable. This article discusses some considerations to guide that decision-making process. General Employment Liability Risks Departing employees can, and do, raise allegations during exit interviews that create increased employment liability exposure. This often happens when a departing employee is interviewed by a human resources representative. Even though HR employees are most likely to conduct an exit interview, they often lack insight into the employee’s history at the company and may not be prepared to meaningfully respond to an allegation that is grounded in the departing employee’s daily experience. For example, a departing employee may reveal that they had to pursue another job with better telework arrangements because their boss would not let them work from home, despite a medical condition that made teleworking desirable. Could that employee have a constructive discharge claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act due to a failure to accommodate? Perhaps. Will an HR representative be prepared to answer questions from the departing employee about why another employee in the same department was permitted to periodically work from home? Probably not. Given these potential risks, companies should assess whether their HR representatives have the time to investigate such issues (and whether they are actually likely to do so once an employee has left) before automatically embarking on an exit interview program. Read More

Court Rejects ‘Close Nexus’ Arbitration Argument in Dispute Between School, Condo Owner in The Legal Intelligencer

March 14, 2019

Gaetan J. Alfano was mentioned in an article titled, “Court Rejects ‘Close Nexus’ Arbitration Argument in Dispute Between School, Condo Owner.” Published March 14, 2019 in The Legal Intelligencer. Related Information: Click here to read the article in The Legal Intelligencer Read More

NLRB Issues Employer-Friendly Decisions Limiting Protections for Employee Complaints and Broadening the Definition of an Independent Contractor

February 28, 2019

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) recently issued two decisions that give companies greater flexibility to discipline employees and classify workers as independent contractors. Alstate Maintenance, LLC, 367 NLRB 68 (2019); SuperShuttle DFW, Inc., 367 NLRB 75 (2019). In Alstate, the Board rejected a standard that protected broad statements to management in front of colleagues, making it more difficult for employees to successfully claim comments are protected by the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).  Now, an employee’s statement is not protected unless the employee brings a truly group complaint or attempts to start group action for mutual aid or protection.  The Board rejected the argument that the comment, “we did a similar job a year prior and we didn’t receive a tip for it” was a group complaint simply because it was made in front of coworkers and used the plural pronoun “we.”  Rather, because the employer did not control tips, the comment could not be considered as made to management for the workers’ mutual aid or protection. In SuperShuttle, the NLRB returned to its long-standing broad definition of an independent contractor. The Board reaffirmed a traditional common-law agency test, which focuses on a company’s ability to control a worker’s daily tasks.  Going forward, the Board will also examine the entrepreneurial opportunity a position affords a worker as one aspect of determining his or her employment status.  The ruling may make it more difficult for workers to unionize because only employees are covered by the NLRA. Both decisions indicate that the NLRB may continue to relax restrictions on American businesses, including a company’s ability to discipline its employees and classify its workers as it chooses.  Employers should be mindful to distinguish between individual complaints, even if made in a group setting, which are not protected, and group actions concerning terms and conditions of employment, which cannot be restricted.  Read More

Insurance Coverage and the #MeToo Movement

2019/02/12

Shelly R. Pagac will be speaking at the RIMS Pittsburgh Chapter’s EPLI – Emerging Claim Trends & Coverage Issues event. Her presentation will be titled “Insurance Coverage and the #MeToo Movement.” The event will take place on Tuesday, February 12, 2019 at the Sheraton Station Square from 11:30am – 1:30pm. Read More

Pittsburgh Human Resources Association 2nd Employment Law Day

November 30, 2018

Shelly R. Pagac and Laura C. Bunting will be speaking at the Pittsburgh Human Resources Association (PHRA) 2nd Employment Law Day on November 30, 2018. Their session will be “The Sequel – Harassment Investigations – #what’s next?” Read More

Pennsylvania Bar Institute Employment Law Institute West 2018

2018/11/13

Shelly R. Pagac will be speaking at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Employment Law Institute West 2018 on November 13, 2018. She will speaking on the topic “An Interactive Study of a Sexual Harassment Case.” Read More

Pittsburgh Human Resources Association 70th Annual Conference & Exhibition

October 9, 2018

Laura C. Bunting will be presenting, “Social Media: Legal Issues When Employees Log-On (Inside and Outside of the Workplace),” at the Pittsburgh Human Resources Association’s 70th Annual Conference & Exhibition in Mars, PA on October 9, 2018. Read More

Pennsylvania Causes of Action (12th Edition)

2023/10/25

Gaetan J. Alfano co-authored the manual, “Pennsylvania Causes of Action” (ALM 12th Edition, 2023). Read More

Apply Lessons Learned During Your First Summer Jobs To Your Legal Career

August 1, 2018

One of the defining moments for many adolescents is their first summer job. A first job often represented a sense of freedom and increased independence. No matter what your first job was, you certainly learned lessons about how to be a valuable member of a workplace. During summers in Ithaca, New York, I worked at a bakery, a clothing store at the mall, an antiques store, and later, I was a counselor at a sleep-away camp in the Poconos. Each of these jobs taught me new skills, pushed me outside my comfort zone, and developed my career values. As this summer ends, revisit the lessons you learned during your first jobs and use them to sustain and reinvigorate your legal career. The following are some of the key lessons I learned during my summer jobs. Persistence Finding your first job may have been a challenge and likely taught you how important follow-up and follow through are in the workplace. My first summer home from college, it seemed like I was running out of places to apply to for a job and not having any luck. Many of the restaurants were not interested unless you had worked in a restaurant before and I had only worked retail during high school. I eventually made a list of each place I had applied and then followed up with phone calls to each business asking the manager the status of my application. Eventually I was hired by one of the first places I had applied. The same thing may have been true when searching for your first job out of law school or your next position. Try not to be frustrated with the hard work that often accompanies finding or changing jobs. A positive attitude while job hunting will be noticed. Additionally, whether you want to develop your career at your firm or organization or make a career transition, be persistent in working toward your goals. Read More

Five Types Of Connections You Should Develop In Your Legal Network

May 23, 2018

The commencement speaker when you graduated from law school inevitably highlighted members of the audience who supported the graduates during school, and would provide continued support while the graduates studied for the bar exam and began their careers. Your career can be enhanced through relationships with others in your network of fellow attorneys, along with support from friends and family. These relationships can provide you with new opportunities and challenge you to go outside of your comfort zone. Each person has specific strengths. Therefore, it may be helpful to seek out connections with different skills to help you work toward your career goals. With that in mind, you may want to develop connections in the following categories: The Scholar The best source of referrals, future job prospects, and long-term success in the legal field is substantive knowledge of the law. As a young lawyer, one of the highest compliments you can be paid is if another attorney refers a case to you. The best way to build these referrals is to become the “go-to” attorney in your area of the law, so that you are the first person who comes to mind when an attorney has a case to refer. The scholar is a well-respected and well-versed practitioner or in-house counsel in your chosen field of law. Ask the scholar to coffee or a meeting in his office to express an interest in his or her career. The scholar may be able to provide insight on resources and organizations you should consider joining to deepen your understanding of the law. For example, if you practice labor and employment law, a Human Resources organization may provide insight on issues employers are facing. Become curious about available resources as well. The U.S. District Court ECF (electronic case files) systems allow you to receive notifications of filings related to attorney, party or type of case directly to your email. Read More