QUESTION & ANSWER

MUNICIPAL LAW

  • The law gives important authority to the prison board, but the prison board has no budget and typically does not have any executive ability.  The commissioners comprise the largest voting block on the prison board, control the budget, and have executive authority and ability to carry out policy decisions.

  • No. Deliberation for the purpose of making a decision and a vote on agency business must take place in public. Many discussions and other activities can be conducted outside of public meetings as long those rules are followed.

  • This is a harder question than it seems. The Borough Code puts mayors in charge of day-to-day operations. But mayors have no budget, they do not hire or fire, they cannot collectively bargain with the union, and they do not set the civil service rules. The Borough Council controls each of those other matters. If there is a dispute in this area, experienced legal counsel is needed.

  • No. The opportunity for public comment is generally an opportunity for members of the public to share their views of items on the agenda or that they deem of public importance. It is not a forum for question and answer.

  • Generally no. Many local governments choose to use a request for proposal process for professional services, but this is not required. Professional services are different from purchasing or even construction contracting, making bidding an inappropriate vehicle for reviewing potential vendors.

LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW

  • No. Discipline for misconduct or poor performance is a distinct subject from the requirement to accommodate medical issues. Employers must take care to keep the two subjects separate, and to observe procedural requirements and to keep good documentation, but the two separate issues may and should proceed on separate, if contemporaneous, tracks.

  • Maybe. First, the animal must be an actual service animal that performs work to assist with some medical disability. Emotional support animals often do not meet this standard. Next, any accommodation must be reasonable, which requires careful analysis and cooperative communication between the employer, the employee, and medical professionals. This is an area where legal help is required.

  • Yes. Collective bargaining agreements allow discipline for just cause. The law requires allegations of sex harassment to be appropriately investigated and remedied in a reasonable amount of time. Sometimes that will mean discipline. Navigating the state and federal law on the one hand, and the union contract on the other, requires experienced legal help.

  • No. County commissioners represent judges and row officers in representation matters and collective bargaining as a matter of law.

  • Under Act 111 (for police officers and fire fighters) and Act 195 (for most other public employees) bargaining begins on July 1.

    For Act 195, mediation must commence no later than August 3 and Interest Arbitration must be demanded by August 23.

    For Act 111, arbitration must be demanded by September 12. 

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

  • No. The Bureau of Hearings and Appeals does that and they are independent.

  • Some claims can go directly to court, but that circumstance is comparatively rare. Generally, employment discrimination claims begin in either the PHRC or the EEOC.

  • Employers are generally required to provide truthful and complete information to the Unemployment Office when requested. Often, it is the wrong choice not to attend an appeal hearing because a loss at unemployment will sometimes be used against the employer in a later court case.

  • No. Workers Compensation Insurance is focused on getting you to agree to return an employee to work. This is sometimes in your interest, but often it isn’t. You should use your own employment counsel to evaluate whether heart and lung status is warranted, and whether return to work is in your interest in the particular case. This may or may not match the advice your workers compensation insurer gives to you.

  • Not necessarily. Discipline and leave status under military leave (or for any other reason) are two different issues that must analyzed separately. if discipline is warranted and the military leave is long, there is good reason not to wait.