Thomas D. Rees's Legal Insights
What is garden leave?
What is garden leave (also known as 'gardening leave')? The term sounds pastoral, but its use is practical. Very simply, it is an agreed-upon period when an employer pays a departing key employee not to work before the employee joins a competitor. Originating in England, it means that the employee is to stay “in the […]
You Must be a Current Employee to Review your Personnel File!
July 18, 2018 By Thomas D. Rees, Esquire Last year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that only current employees have the right to review their personnel files under the Pennsylvania Personnel Files Act. This decision in Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Inc. v. Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, 162 A.3d 384 (Pa. 2017), does not […]
Watch out for Non-Hire and Anti-Poaching Agreements!
You are the CEO of Company A, a cutting-edge developer of new software. Over golf (or sushi), you agree with the CEO of equally cutting-edge Company B that each of you will not hire or try to hire away the other’s top talent. Is anything wrong with this? Yes! The Sherman Antitrust Act prohibits contracts […]
Avoiding Traps for the Unwary in College and School Vendor Contracts
What can an educational administrator do when a vendor performs poorly under a long-term contract? Unless the college or school has tightened its procedures for contract drafting and approval, the answer may be “not much”. More than a few educational institutions have tried to cancel contracts with underperforming suppliers - ranging from yearbook publishers to […]
Child Care Workers’ Challenge to Firing for Reporting Abuse
July 25, 2017 By Thomas D. Rees, Esq. On May 23, 2017, the Pennsylvania Superior Court issued an important employment law decision, affecting everyone who works with children. In Krolczyk v. Goddard Systems, Inc., ___ A.3d ___, 2017 WL 2255554 (Pa. Super. May 23, 2017), the Court allowed ex-employees to sue for wrongful discharge after […]
Second Circuit Upholds NLRB’s Reinstatement of Employee Who Posted Profane Blog About Boss’s Mother
June 27, 2017 By Thomas D. Rees Two years ago, I blogged about a National Labor Relations Board decision restoring an employee’s job after the employee posted a profane blog about his supervisor’s mother- “Can You Insult Your Boss’s Mother at Work and Avoid Dismissal? Maybe so!” After a recent Second Circuit decision, we can […]
Courts, Schools Can Limit Contact by Difficult Parents - in Custody Cases and Elsewhere
February 8, 2016 By: Thomas D. Rees, Esq. and Elizabeth Early, Esq. Tom Rees is a partner in High Swartz’s employment and litigation group and devotes significant time to representation of independent schools. Liz Early is an associate in High Swartz’s family law group.
Just Hang Up! The Perils of Pocket Dialing and Accidental Calls.
January 28, 2016 By: Thomas D. Rees, Esq. Dialing mistakes are no longer just material for late night comedy. Several recent employment cases show the consequences of “pocket dialing” on cell phones. The mistaken calls disclosed plans to fire executives, disrespect for management, conflicts of interest, and affairs with co-workers. The misdialing employees and supervisors […]
Enforcing a Restrictive Covenant
There are four essential requirements that make a restrictive covenant enforceable in the eyes of the court. In a previous post, I detailed the types of restrictive covenants. Click here to read that post. Obtaining an employee’s signature on a post-employment restriction is easy work compared to court enforcement of a restrictive covenant. The former […]
The 7 Types of Restrictive Covenants to Know
Post-employment restrictive covenants in PA come in multiple varieties and the non-compete covenant is the most burdensome of all. Most people have heard, and are likely familiar with, the term noncompete, otherwise know as a restrictive covenant. It’s not uncommon for an employer to ask an employee to sign a non-compete clause, which sets limitations […]