The Case
The Third Circuit recently had the opportunity to rule on a case brought against the Delaware Department of Labor’s Office of Anti-Discrimination (“OAD”), by its former Acting Administrator. The OAD was awarded summary judgment, and the Third Circuit confirmed the award, holding that even accepting all of the employee’s allegations as true, there was no legal basis to conclude that OAD had violated the federal Equal Pay Act. Continue reading
Have you ever started a job and realized that it was not what you thought it would be? Or have you ever hired someone who seemed like a perfect fit in the interview and then was a total dud when they were on the job? Most of us have. But in a novel approach, some companies have taken charge and started to pay their employees to quit. Continue reading
Regular readers of this blog will know that we have written pretty extensively on Women in the Workplace and Pregnancy (First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage, Then Comes Flex-Time and a Baby Carriage, The Maternal Profiling Debate Continues, to name a few). In 2008 we wrote about a new study that focused on trends in Pregnancy Discrimination. 10 years later we are still having problems. Continue reading
This article was originally published on the “Delaware Non-Compete Law Blog“
The use of employee covenants not to compete – once restricted to salespeople and high-level management – has continued to expand into the ranks of ordinary employees. A recent survey suggests that as many as one in five employees have some form of agreement placing restrictions on their post-employment activities. Continue reading
Investigating complaints of inappropriate workplace conduct is a difficult challenge for any number of reasons. But conducting an immediate and thorough investigation is critical to both preventing lawsuits and to avoiding liability should a lawsuit arise. Human-resource professionals often ask for tips in handling this challenge. Here are three.
First, don’t be shy. An investigation of workplace harassment is not the time to be timid. Ask the tough questions and be direct. Don’t mince words or dance around the questions. Consider writing out the questions that you need answers to and actually check them off your list. If you don’t ask a straight question, you’ll never get a straight answer. Continue reading
Criminal histories and credit scores will soon be an off-limit topic for job applications in Delaware’s public sector. HB 167 passed the Delaware Senate on May 1, 2014, and is expected to be signed into law by Gov. Markell soon. 
As we previously reported, the bill would prohibit public employers and contractors with State agencies from:
inquiring into or considering the criminal record, criminal history, or credit history or score of an applicant before it makes a conditional offer to the applicant.
So-called “ban-the-box” initiatives, which limit employers’ inquiries into an applicant’s criminal history, have been adopted by several cities and municipalities. Philadelphia adopted such a law in the Spring of 2011. The City of Wilmington joined the ban-the-box bandwagon in Fall 2012, when then-Mayor Baker signed an executive order that removed a question about criminal convictions from job applications. But that executive order applied only to applicants seeking work with the City of Wilmington. Other Delaware employers have not been subject to these restrictions.
A bill is pending in the Delaware legislature, though, would change that and more if passed. Continue reading
