Brad Dorrance of Keefer Wood Allen & Rahal, LLP FAQ

Yes. You may sue your employer for certain illegal actions including discrimination, retaliation, and harassment. Discrimination may arise when you are treated less favorably than a co-worker who is not in your “protected class.” Under federal law, your employer cannot discriminate against you based on certain protected classes and circumstances including:

• Race/Color
• National Origin
• Disability
• FMLA Violations
• Sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity) 
• Age Discrimination (40 or older)
• Religion
• Failing to pay equal wages
• Refusal to hire a qualified job applicant
• Genetic information (including family medical history)

If you believe you have been victimized by discrimination, retaliation, or harassment, please contact Brad Dorrance today at his above email address and telephone number for a free, confidential consultation.

Retaliation can arise when an employee complains about discrimination and the employer thereafter takes wrongful disciplinary action against the employee. Retaliation can be further established by ongoing harassment of the employee or disciplinary action/termination arising shortly after the employee complains. 

Broadly stated, harassment is unwelcome conduct affecting the employee’s terms and conditions of employment. There are two types. Sexual harassment (quid pro quo) can occur when a supervisor requests a sexual favor in exchange for favorable treatment or demands a sexual favor with the threat of discipline against the employee. Additionally, a hostile work environment can arise based on any protected class, including race, sex, religion, age, etc. As a general rule, the harassment must be severe or pervasive to establish a claim. 

Yes. For employers having 50 or more employees, the Family Medical Leave Act allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave due to family or health-related issues, such as childbirth, care of a newborn, or a personal health condition. The employee may take either continuous or intermittent leave. If the employee elects to take FMLA leave, the employer generally must allow the employee to return to the same or an equivalent position before the expiration of the leave. FMLA is one of the strongest protections for eligible employees to retain their jobs (and should be considered in conjunction with most leave requests). 

Most employees incorrectly assume that they cannot complain about illegal activity because they will lose their jobs. However, certain strategies can actually strengthen the rights of an at-will employee. Generally speaking, an employee should follow the employer’s policy for reporting complaints, document legitimate concerns, and request an investigation. Human Resources must generally follow up and address the employee’s concerns. Most employers are extremely reluctant to take disciplinary action against an employee who complains about discrimination because they fear a subsequent retaliation claim by the employee. The employee must document these concerns from a personal computer or another device so that a record is kept for any future grievance or litigation. 

State and federal law provide significant protections for employees with a “disability.” The term is broadly defined and may include various physical or mental conditions which limit the employee’s ability to perform certain job duties or other major life activities. An employee with a disability should inform Human Resources and request “accommodation” if necessary for the employee to perform essential job duties. Accommodation can take several different forms, including a lighter duty position and additional unpaid leave

Most states (including Pennsylvania) are governed by the general rule of at-will employment. Although at-will employment generally means that an employer can discipline or fire an employee for any reason or no reason at all, there are several exceptions to the rule including wrongful discipline or termination resulting from discrimination, retaliation, or harassment, and other exceptions, such as whistleblowing. Additionally, employees have some job protection if they are covered by an employment or collective bargaining agreement. 

A whistleblower claim may arise when an employee is disciplined after reporting illegal or fraudulent conduct at the workplace. Examples include reporting fraud or misuse of government funds or reporting safety and health violations under a federal law known as

OSHA.

Pennsylvania Law generally favors granting UC benefits unless the employee engages in "willful misconduct." That term may include various types of conduct including failure to comply with the employer's written policies. It is more difficult for employees to prevail if they resign (rather than being fired). Those employees must show that, due to intolerable work conditions, they had no meaningful alternative but to resign.