Monday, September 08, 2008

employment - state min. wage act - domestic workers

Bayada Nurses, Inc. v. Dept. of Labor & Industry - Commonwealth Court - September 4, 2008

http://www.courts.state.pa.us/OpPosting/CWealth/out/477MD07_9-4-08.pdf

Home health aides held entitled to state minimum wage and overtime protections under state Minimum Wage Act (MWA), 43 P.S. 333.105(a)(2), (4), and regulations, 34 Pa. Code 231.1(b), which mandated coverage where the work was done as an employee of a third party, such as petitioner, and not the householder her/himself.

These state laws provide coverage where federal law does not, 29 CFR 552.3, 552.109(a). The law is clear, however, that the FLSA does not pre-empt state regulations of wages and overtime if the state's standards are more beneficial to workers, FLSA sec. 218(a).

The dissent felt that the case was not ripe, because DLI had not taken action against the employer, which had failed to exhaust administrative remedies.

PFA - jurisdiction - sufficiency of evidence

BTW v. PJL - Superior Court - August 27, 2008

http://www.courts.state.pa.us/OpPosting/Superior/out/S11044_08.pdf

The trial court had jurisdiction over PFA involving abuse of a child even though defendants lived and abuse took place outside of Pennsylvania, since a Pennsylvania court had previously entered a custody order concerning the child and had "exclusive, continuing jurisdiction" over custody and related matters under 23 Pa. C.S. 5422(a) and 5402 (definition of "child custody proceeding" includes PFA action."

In addition, the evidence was sufficient to establish abuse, where it included hitting with a belt, pulling hair, bruising, marks on back.

PFA - reasonable fear - course of conduct

Mescanti v. Mescanti - Superior Court - August 29, 2008

http://www.courts.state.pa.us/OpPosting/Superior/out/a17028_08.pdf

Husband's course of conduct held sufficient to cause reasonable fear of bodily injury in wife. That conduct included

- threats that she'd better not to sleep or even close her eyes
- fact that husband had guns in the house, and wife heard sounds of gun cocking
- husband interrupting wife's sleep, hacking into her email, following her around, disconnecting phone lines, etc.

It was held that "the record amply supports the trial courts's conclusion that wife established, by a preponderance of the evidence, that husband engaged in a course of conduct that place wife in reasonable fear of bodily injury.

employment - nursing - good moral character

Sellers v. State Board of Nursing - Commonwealth Court - August 28, 2008 - unreported memorandum decision

http://www.courts.state.pa.us/OpPosting/CWealth/out/297CD08_8-28-08.pdf

Petition for reinstatement of license of former R.N. denied because of her failure to accept responsibility for her wrongdoing, which related to abuse of alcohol. She was not honest and forthright and truthful with the state licensing authorities. The Board acted properly in conditioning reinstatement, in part, on an actual acknowledgment of wrongdoing, which is an important initial step in preventing recurrence of wrongful conduct and restoring the licensee's credibility. This applies to any wrongful conduct, not just fraudulent conduct. The licensing act "requires good moral character as a qualification for a license to practice nursing."