At Will Employment in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania, as many states, abides by the at-will employment doctrine. The at-will employment doctrine, simply translated, is that "an employee can be discharged for reason or no reason at all."

An exception to the at-will doctrine, allowing an employee to challenge his/her discharge, is when the employer's decision to discharge violates public policy. An example of a discharge that violates public policy is when an employee is discharged because of their disability, gender, age, race, national origin, religion, or pregnancy. Courts also have ruled that persons discharged for exercising their statutory rights to workers' compensation or to be paid wages within 30 days as is required by Pennsylvania's Wage Payment Collection Law have been fired in violation of public policy entitling them to bring a Wrongful Discharge suit against the employer.

There is no legal right for an employee to challenge his/her firing because he/she was fired because the employer just didn't like him/her or thought that the employee wasn't a good fit for the employer. This is true even if the employee relocated from another city and was fired soon after being hired. In sum, employees do not have a legal right to be treated fairly or even civilly.

A means of protecting yourself as an employee is to seek a written employment contract. Of course, many employees don't have the leverage to demand the job security a contract offers. But if you do, negotiate an employment contract that provides for a fair evaluation procedure, and fair standard to be used in determining whether employee conduct warrants discharge and an arbitration clause with a loser pays provision to adjudicate disputes over an employment termination or breach of the contract. Any employment contract also should spell out salary, including increases, and all benefits.

In sum, just being treated badly or unfairly at work doesn't mean you can successfully sue your employer for firing you. In fact, many management consultants advise employers to quickly fire employees who do not fit in or who are perceived as troublemakers or non-team players.