Legal Question in Employment Law in Pennsylvania

In april i was fired from my job after 22 years from the same organization. In 2009, i was forced to hire an employement attorney due to an unstable boss. A letter was sent to her direct report via the attorney regarding my concerns. I believe my boss was told to back off. I received a call from our hr dept several weeks after they received a copy of my attorney letter, asking me how everything was going. My reply at that time was that everything was fine. A week later i received a letter from hr stating their investigation found my concerns unfounded. At the time of this letter, my boss and i, along with her other direct reports were in counseling. In december of 2010, my boss was let go. At the same time, i found myself reporting to other employees who were not only in a lower position than i but also employees who were not trained nor were decision makers in regard to projects in which i had to report to them. Historically, as the database administrator, i would be the person in charge of said projects. Although i was not in charge of these projects, i was still responsible for the outcome. To make a long story short, i was let go for insufficienes, where i feel i was setup to fail. I believe it had to do with the fact that i had hired an attorney to protect my rights. My last day, i was not given the opportunity to pack my personal belongings. My belongings were packed by other staff members. I was also escorted out of the building by security. This is not protocol, it was done to embarass me.

Do i have any rights under the whistlebloer law? Or, because i am over 55.


Asked on 1/03/12, 2:08 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Andrew Solomon Law Office of Andrew A. Solomon

First, if you feel that you were the victim of age discrimination, you have 180 days to file a co,plaint with the PA Human Relations commission. You can get a complaint form online or by caling them. Unfortunately, PA is a very pro-employer state and an employee can be fired for almost reason. The only time the employer can be held liable for firing an employee is if he discriminates based on rece, religion, age or national origin. In your case, it sounds like they set you up so that you can't claim discrimination. This is happening all over the State and country. Younger employers work for less, lower insurance premiums, and haven't accumulated the benefits that come with seniority. People criticize Unions, but at least these things are not permitted to happen if you have a collective bargaining agreement. Its a shame that employers don't recognize the values of loyalty and experience anymore, but only about saving money.

Read more
Answered on 1/06/12, 8:51 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Labor and Employment Law questions and answers in Pennsylvania