Employment Law - Wrongful Discharge

Carol Rosenbloom Associates, LLC| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

EMPLOYMENT ATTORNEY • WRONGFUL DISCHARGE ATTORNEY

Most people are hired without a written contract. In Pennsylvania, employment is generally considered “at will,” meaning that the employer may terminate employment (or the employee may voluntarily leave) at any time and without a reason. However, an employer’s right to fire an employee may be limited:

• if the employee can show that the employer entered into either an implicit or explicit contract to employ the employee for a certain length of time;
• if the employee is a member of a union; and/or
• if the employer knowingly employs a person and causes the employee's family to relocate or move.

At Carol Rosenbloom Associates, LLC, we can tell you whether you may have some protection from being fired or dismissed.

Employers also use a written employment contract to govern an employee’s behavior after employment has ended, for example, by limiting the ways in which an employee may use confidential or proprietary employer information, or by restricting the employee’s right to compete with the employer. Non-competition agreements are particularly difficult to enforce and many states have enacted statutes specifically limiting their effectiveness. In general, the scope of such an agreement, including the geographic area covered or the length of time that it lasts, must be no broader than necessary to protect the employer’s business. In addition, a covenant not to compete may typically be imposed on a new employee as a condition of employment. However, if it is imposed on an existing employee, it must be supported by some independent consideration beyond a simple promise of continued employment, such as a raise, a bonus payment, or improved commission terms.

Federal and state wage and hour laws, anti-discrimination laws, whistleblower laws and laws dealing with employee benefits all create employee rights. A new law gives added protection to whistleblowers at companies making, distributing or selling consumer products. One of the 39 separate sections in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 establishes new protections against retaliation to employees in consumer products companies who raise safety or other issues about the workplace. The new law states that employers who manufacture, import, distribute or sell consumer goods may not discharge employees who give information about a violation of the law or any other act enforced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to the employer, federal or state authorities. The new law also prohibits other types of retaliation, such as demoting, blacklisting, denying overtime, promotions or reducing pay or hours.

You may have been terminated or fired from work as a result of a reduction-in-force or plant closing. Because a reduction in force of any significant size is likely to include employees 40 years of age or older, your employer as part of its reduction in force program, at a minimum, must make sure that its releases meet the statutory requirements. The Older Workers Benefits Protection Act sets forth specific requirements for a waiver of Age Discrimination in Employment Act claims.

To be valid under the Older Workers Benefits Act the release must be understood by the average individual eligible to participate, must specifically refer to the release of claims authorized by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and must not include claims that may arise after the waiver or release is executed. The terminated employees must receive consideration in addition to anything of value to which they are entitled, must be advised in writing to consult with their attorneys prior to executing the agreement, and must be given 45 days to consider the release and 7 days to revoke it after executing it.

The Older Worker Benefits Protection Act also requires that the terminated employees be provided with the eligibility requirements and time limits applicable to the program to provide enhanced benefits in exchange for a release, the job titles and ages of all individuals eligible to receive those benefits and the ages of those individuals in the same job classification and or organizational unit who are not eligible or selected for the program.

Your employer may tell you that you can get severance pay in exchange for your signature on a release. Not only is the release several pages in length, also, there may be a list of the terminated employees with their ages attached to the release. With your suspicions already heightened because of your job separation, you wonder if the company is being honest. Before signing a release you should seek the advice of an employment attorney. For a small fee, we will review your release and explain to you the effect and possible consequences of signing the release. We can also help you to understand the termination information at the end of the release. Contact Carol Rosenbloom Associates, LLC. This financial arrangement is different from the contingent fee on the other pages on this web site.

Carol Rosenbloom Associates can help you understand your rights. We can assist you in understanding the release. We can also help you to understand the termination information at the end of the release. For a review of your release for a small fee contact http://www.callmylawyer.net/ or call Carol Rosenbloom Associates (1-800-51-2411).

If you have suffered an on-the-job injury, don't wait to contact an attorney. Protect yourself and contact a knowledgeable Pennsylvania workers' compensation attorney at our law offices today.

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Carol Rosenbloom Associates, LLC
Toll Free: 1 (800) 511-2411
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