Bio:
Gerard Panaro is Of Counsel with the law firm Howe & Hutton, Ltd. He was the author of Employment Law Manual (2d ed), Warren Gorham & Lamont, 1989 (2d ed, 1993). He is the author of the book Pregnancy & Childcare Issues in the Workplace (Executive Enterprises Publications Co., Inc., 1987), and "Fair Employment Practices Guidelines" (Aspen Publishers); and he served as Editor, Leave and Disability Compliance Alert (1999-2000).
Mr. Panaro received a B.A., magna cum laude in 1971 from University of Scranton, a Ph.D. from Boston College in 1975, and a J.D. from Georgetown University in 1977. He is a member of: The District of Columbia Bar and Maryland State Bar Association. His practice areas are: Employment Law; Nonprofit Organizations.
Areas of Expertise:
HR Legal and Consulting
Human Resource Consulting
Contact info:
You can contact Gerard Panaro at Howe & Hutton, Ltd, (Resident in D.C. office). Telephone: 301-518-9267
email:
gpp@howehutton.com.
Questions Answered
11/29/2004
We have a Personal Banker who has been out of the Bank for 14 weeks due to having a baby and then a few complications. She is coming back to work on Monday but she is requesting to only work part-time for two more months and then return full-time after that. Can we write her a letter and explain that if she chooses to work part-time then she would have to stay part-time until a full-time job opens, stating that we would need someone to work the position on a full-time basis? If she chooses to come back to work full-time, then we have reserved her previous position and she may have that according to FMLA. Can you provide draft wording for such a letter?
12/01/2003
The bank I am presently employed at pulled a credit report on me before they hired me. Unfortunately, since my date of hire, I have had financial difficulties, and my credit is ruined. My supervisor just informed me they are going to start to do annual credit reports on employees. Is it possible for them to terminate me? I started here February 26, 2003 and received "Employee of the Month" in August. I know they are very happy with my performance here, so the only thing I'm worried about is my ruined credit. Any information you can give me regarding this matter would be greatly appreciated.
06/23/2003
I have attended several Labor Law Clinics hosted by State of Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. I have specifically asked if every employee, exempt or not, needs to fill out a time sheet. I have always been told that definitely they do. Our President/CEO and I have had many discussions on this subject. What is your opinion on this subject? Thanks for your help.
02/05/2001
We have an employee who is chronically absent due to illness. It's always a day here, a day there. Nothing major. Stomach flu. Cold. Food Poisoning. Virus. Can we take disciplinary action against this person? Require them to take vitamins, eat right, exercise? (I'm stretching it, but this person eats candy bars at her desk for breakfast on the mornings she is in the bank.) Can we prohibit her from taking any vacation time until her attendance improves? What are the boundaries of what we can and can't do?
02/05/2001
Help! We just crossed the magic threshold of having 50 employees. I am told this makes us subject to the affirmative action laws and requirements. Are there some common mistakes that companies typically make in the affirmative action area? We don't want to get nailed.
