Legal Question in Employment Law in Pennsylvania

In the absence of a collective bargaining agreement or a contract of employment for a specific term, the director is an employee at will who can be fired or disciplined for any reason. If the personnel manual has an appropriate disclaimer that it is not an employment agreement and that its provisions can be changed at any time, it will not be viewed as a contract of emplyment under Pennsylvania law.

The conflict between the self-authored "reviews" and the actual behavior that can be proved might be an issue in an Unemployment Compensation proceeding. A Referee should be able to be convince not to place much creedence upon the "reviews." They would ordinarily only become important in a UC proceeding in a case where there was an allegation of terminationn after progressive discipline, for repeated violations.

Assuming the director continues to violate established, known rules in the personnel manual, the agency should use the most recent and most serious violation as the basis for termination. If there is a potential issue that these rules have been waived due to non-enforcement or inconsistent enforcement, a disciplinary warning letter identifying the behavior and the rule it violates might be warranted, and the termination should be put into effect after a subsequent vioaltion.

Being a female, the director is in a class of people protected by state and federal anti-discrimination laws. Care should be taken to affect the termnation in a way that does not cause an appearance of discrimination.

A complete answer to your question is impossible without a full consultation. There are other potential considerations that should be looked into even thought they are not raised by your question at this time.

In these areas, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Even though a viable legal action by the director appears unlikely, the idea is to avoid the expense of being sued at all, especially when one is operating as a nonprofit. The cost of a consultation with an employment lawyer, before taking action, is far outweighed by the cost of defending a claim, even if it is ultimately defeated. I strongly urge you to consult with a local employment attorney before proceeding.

This answer is provided as legal guidance based upon very limited information. Its value, therefore, may depend upon assumptions that are incorrect. You should not rely on this advice without further consultation will a lawyer who has the oopprotunity to fuly acquaint herself with your situation.