Employees Acts: Are Employers Held Responsible?

When Employers are Held Responsible

employee rights

Employee Acts cover a vast number of areas to protect the rights of employees, from wages and hours, workplace safety and health to Employee Polygraph Protection Act.

Meanwhile, under some situations, an employer can be held accountable for the criminal activities of its employees. Claims for negligent recruiting, retention, and supervision of employees connected to an employee’s illegal activities while on the job have been allowed in Pennsylvania courts. 

Employers must shield themselves and their companies against liabilities resulting from their workers’ criminal actions beginning with obtaining a business attorney Bucks County PA.

As a result, it is critical for companies to know who they are hiring and to ensure that they have enough supervision in place to prevent their employees from causing harm to others.

The court decided in McBride v. Hershey Chocolate Corp. that, under Pennsylvania law, an employer must exercise reasonable control over its employees to prevent them from intentionally hurting others if the employer knows or has cause to know such control is required.

According to McBride, if an employer knows or has cause to think that violence and/or harm may occur in the workplace, the employer must take efforts to address aggressiveness and the threat of violence.

Certain companies in Pennsylvania, such as those in education and law enforcement, are required to conduct criminal background checks on their employees, and a business Attorney Bucks County can help you get it right.

Other employers may require applicants to submit to a criminal background check. Employers’ use of criminal histories in making employment decisions is, however, governed by Pennsylvania law.

A Bucks County business lawyer knows that employers may use an applicant’s criminal history records to determine whether to hire them, according to Pennsylvania statute 18 Pa.C.S. 9125.

However, it adds that an employer can contemplate felony and minor convictions only to the magnitude that they pertain to the applicant’s eligibility for the post for which he has applied.

Furthermore, if the choice is based on the applicant’s criminal history record, the employer must tell the applicant in writing of its decision.

When using criminal history records to make employment decisions, employers must follow these regulatory standards.

Employers should also keep in mind that if a charge against an applicant is still pending, he is assumed innocent while the charges are ongoing.

Possible discrimination claims that can result from rejecting or terminating employment based on a person’s criminal history records are another problem that an employer must be aware of, and a Bucks County business attorney can assist.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued enforcement guidelines to assist companies in using background information in a nondiscriminatory way.

Otherwise, an employer could be held liable for Title VII discrimination charges. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission emphasizes the need to distinguish between arrest and conviction records.

Additionally, if an employer wants to collect a consumer reporting agency’s criminal history on an application or employee, the business must ensure that it does not violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Before taking an adverse employment action, the employer must obtain permission from the applicant or employee, provide a copy of the report to the applicant or employee, and provide a summary of his or her rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and must send the applicant or employee notices if it decides to take an adverse employment action.

How a Business Lawyer Buck County can Help

Many legal difficulties can occur, making employers responsible for their recruiting, retention, and supervision decisions.

As a result, please do not hesitate to contact a business attorney in Bucks County PA, at Olen Law Office to learn about and get help with employment act issues.