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At-will Employment Rights
“Pennsylvania is an at will state. We can fire you for any reason or no reason at all.” It’s a common phrase from employers, but with an invisible asterisk. This newsletter will discuss some of those exceptions.
Federal Law
Several federal statutes collectively protect certain classes of employees for being discharged for being members of those classes, including race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, and disability. Broadly speaking, the employee must prove that he or she is a member of a protected class and was discharged for being a member of that protected class, while an employer may counter that there was some other legitimate reason for discharge. Depending on the statute, there are some limitations, such as minimum size of an employer to apply or the requirement to exhaust administrative remedies.
State Law
The Pennsylvania Whistleblower Law protects state and local government employees and some government-tangential employees from being discharged for making a good-faith report of waste or wrongdoing.
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act is similar to federal statutes, but applies to smaller employers.
Pennsylvania courts have established a cause of action for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy. These are of limited applicability. One may not be discharged for filing a claim for workers’ compensation benefits, for filing a valid claim for unemployment compensation benefits, for participating in jury duty, or for refusing a polygraph.
Again, an employer may counter that there was some other legitimate reason for the discharge.
Contract
Though all employment relationships in Pennsylvania are presumed to be at will, this can be rebutted with an express or implied contract. In an employment contract or employee handbook, look for a definite term of employment or a clause restricting the grounds on which the employer may discharge the employee. This is why many handbooks explicitly state that they do not create an employment contract.
In rare circumstances, the employee has sacrificed so much to be hired and discharge would create such a substantial hardship that the employee can reasonably expect to remain employed for some time before the at-will relationship kicks in. A few examples include relocating; selling a home; accepting a reduced salary in exchange for guaranteed employment; and rejecting a specific opportunity. Note that these are all fact-intensive analyses that must be compared to prior cases.
Unemployment Compensation Standard
Keep in mind that the right to discharge is irrelevant to eligibility for UC benefits, for which the standard is willful misconduct. Explaining this could be a whole other post, but in brief: knowingly doing something the employee knows is against the employer’s interests, without reasonable justification.
Whether you’re an employee and think you have a discrimination, wrongful termination, or unemployment compensation claim or employer trying to avoid one, the experienced attorneys at PJR Law can help, but remember to act fast so you aren’t barred by a statute of limitations.
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