Legal Question in Employment Law in Pennsylvania

Re: My Job

In most instances in Pennsylvania unless you have a written employment contract or are part of a union, an employer can fire you or reduce your wages at any time for any reason or even if there is no reason. It is within the employer's complete discretion.

The employer only has to stay within wage laws(minimum wage and overtime for non-salaried employees, though commission employees may be different), and he cannot discriminate based on race, gender, religion, etc.

I'd have to hear more about your job before I can say anything further, it sounds like you may be on commission, but I'm not sure.

Re: My Job

You asked about a potential harassing work environment.

The outcome depends on what it is your boss expects. If your boss is expecting higher and higher standards of output, then that would be legal. If your boss expects kickbacks, unethical conduct, or any illegality then you would be very protected for blowing a whistle.

It also depends on where you work and the business you work for. If you work for a larger well run organization that employer is unlikely to appreciate the poor conduct of a rogue manager. Many employers have a compliance or ethics officer that should be made aware of this situation depending on the severity. In other companies this function would fall to the general counsel or even the HR manager. If it is a small employer then there are still alternatives and you may have to explore for those.

There are three potential solutions for every situation: accept it (shut up and stay), deny (leave), or change (work to make the situation better).

If the boss crosses the line and asks for conduct that is potentially illegal (fraud of any sort), harassment (sexual, physical or even emotional), or anything else that gives you pause, then you should bring your concerns to a lawyer without delay.

Regards,

Roger