Employment in Pennsylvania is at will. This means that if you work for another person, firm, or company, your employment can be terminated for any reason or no reason at all, unless you have a written contract or are employed subject to a collective bargaining agreement. However, if you are fired for a reason that is illegal under law or public policy, then you may be able to bring a wrongful termination lawsuit against your former employer. This is the case even if you do not have a written employment agreement. A great deal will depend on a number of factors, which an experienced employment attorney can guide you through if you think your employment has been wrongfully terminated.
What Constitutes Wrongful Termination?
Under Pennsylvania law, your employer cannot fire you from your job because of something that is protected by law or that is considered unethical under public policy. It does not mean that you can sue if you were fired because your employer didn’t like you or that he or she wanted to create a position for a friend or relative. Unless you have an employment agreement or are working in a union job with a collective bargaining agreement, your employer can fire you for practically anything. The key is that you cannot be fired for a reason that is protected by law.
What Are Some Examples of Wrongful Termination?
There are a number of specific areas that are governed by law, which will restrict an employer’s ability to terminate an employee. The most common are firings for discriminatory reasons. This prohibits an employer from firing an employee based on race, religion, gender, age, disability, national origin, veteran status, and sexual orientation. For example, if an employee is LGBTQ and their employment is terminated, they may have grounds for filing a wrongful termination suit if they can show that this was the sole reason behind the firing. This illegal discrimination can be grounds for an unlawful termination case.
An employer cannot terminate employment if an employee simply exercises his or her rights. So, if an employee takes time under the Family and Medical Leave Act, any termination of employment will likely be deemed retaliatory in nature, which also constitutes wrongful termination. Similarly, firing an employee for reporting an unsafe working condition can be deemed retaliatory. Taking time off from work to vote is a right, as well as an important public policy. An employer who fires an employee for going to vote may also be sued for wrongful termination.
Employees may not be pressured to break the law. An employer who fires or threatens to terminate the employment of an employee for refusing to do something illegal may also be held responsible for this action. Retaliatory firings can often involve cases of sexual harassment, where a supervisor makes inappropriate comments or tries to pressure a subordinate into a relationship.
A final ground for a wrongful termination case is when the employee has a written employment contract. In this situation, the employee will need to show that the agreement contained grounds for termination, and that the employer did not comply with them. This could involve the specific acts giving rise to the right of termination, or how the firing occurred, such as a clause that relates to the timing. In many employment contracts, an employer is required to notify the employee of the breach of contract, and then provide a notice and cure period before it can be terminated.
Does Pennsylvania Have Any Laws Governing Wrongful Employment Termination?
There are a number of laws that protect you against wrongful termination of your employment. The Equal Employment Opportunity Laws are a set of federal statutes that prohibit discrimination in the workplace. These protect people with disabilities, pregnant people, women, minorities, and older workers. These are bolstered by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. This law prohibits firing on the basis of such things as age, sex, disability, religion, and race. If an employee suspects that he or she was terminated because they are a member of one of these protected groups, then they will have grounds for a lawsuit under these laws.
How Should You Handle a Wrongful Termination Case?
If you believe that your employment was terminated wrongfully, then you should act quickly to preserve your claim. In most situations, you must take action within 180 days of your firing. Where the case involves a belief that you were fired as a result of discrimination, then you can file a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. The agency you file with will then conduct an investigation and, if it finds that you were discriminated against, will either sue on your behalf or issue a notice of right to sue, which gives you the right to bring an action against your employer in state or federal court, depending on the nature of the claim.
In situations where you believe that the wrongful termination was for something other than discrimination, you can retain an experienced employment attorney to represent you. This litigation will be filed in a Pennsylvania court, and you will be required to prove that the employer’s actions constituted wrongful termination under the law.
How Can You Prove That You Were Wrongfully Terminated?
When you bring a wrongful termination lawsuit, the employer is going to attempt to show that your termination was for a reason other than one that is protected by law. The employer may introduce poor job performance reports, complaints from customers, or any other evidence designed to show that it had a good faith basis for terminating your employment. Therefore, you are going to need to prove that your termination was for a wrongful reason.
One way to show this is by establishing a pattern of discriminatory behavior. This will show things that may have been done to you, such as comments about your age or appearance. You may also show things like an unjustified demotion to a lesser position, or asking you to take on unpleasant tasks that were not assigned to other employees in a similar position.
Another way to demonstrate this is the timing surrounding your termination. If you blew the whistle on an improper practice at work and got fired shortly thereafter, you may be able to prove that the firing was wrongful. You may also be able to show that the firing occurred shortly after you rebuffed an unwanted advance made by a supervisor or coworker.
If you suddenly got terminated after a series of positive reviews, this may also raise suspicion. This is especially true if you are a long term employee. In many cases, terminations without cause can give rise to the presumption that they were done in a wrongful manner.
One of the more interesting ways to prove wrongful termination is constructive termination. This is where the employer makes working conditions so unbearable that the employee feels he or she has no choice but to resign. This may involve intolerable working conditions, like someone who has to put up with a great deal of abuse and offensive jokes about his or her race. In this case, the resignation is treated as if the employee had been fired by the employer.
If You Believe That You Have Been the Victim of a Wrongful Termination, Call Our Firm Today
Your employer does not have the right to wrongfully terminate your employment for a reason that is protected by law. The experienced employment attorneys at Jones Greg Creehan & Gerace, LLP can assist you with filing a wrongful termination claim and representing you in a lawsuit so you are compensated for your injuries. Contact us today.