Legal Question in Business Law in Pennsylvania

Re: Employee rights in Pennsylvania

You asked about offering a pay decrease.

You get credit for asking this question. I'm sure it is a hard course for you to follow.

PA, as a employment at will state, allows an employer to decrease an employee's pay in most circumstances according to agreement by the employer and the employee. The flip side of that coin is that such a renegotiation could be considered a termination and would allow the person to collect unemployment immediately if s/he did not agree to the change.

My suggestion as a business lawyer is to speak with the employee one on one and see if you can come up with an alternative. In some businesses it may make sense to keep the employee but offer fewer hours or days at the same rate of pay. This would allow the employee time to pick up outside work at times when you would otherwise be slow. Or you could look for other alternatives that would benefit you both. Can the employee take over tasks or perform additional tasks to increase his/her value? Can the employee help to bring in additional business to pay for his/her keep?

Good luck and regards,

Roger