Worker Protection Bill Against Unjust Firing Being Considered in Philadelphia

We receive calls every day from workers who are unfairly discharged.  Unfortunately for most of those workers because Pennsylvania is an “at will” employment state there are very few options when it comes to getting their job back.  Most of the time their discharges cannot be challenged even when there was no willful misconduct or the worker’s work performance was not shown to be inadequate.  In this previous article we discussed some exceptions to the at will employment rule in Pennsylvania.  In Philadelphia, however, the Philadelphia City Council is considering a bill that would protect workers from “unjust” discharges. The bill seeks to define what a dischargeable offense would be, for example a worker could only be fired if they were not doing their job or when their work was hurting the business.  Currently in Pennsylvania the only way to incorporate such “just cause” language is through a contract, usually through collective bargaining and a Union.  If this bill should pass it will certainly help some employees in Philadelphia, but the rest of most workers throughout the state would remain at will.  The most effective way to protect your job is still through a Union, but hopefully if this bill passes it may signal a trend for further legislation to protect hard working Pennsylvanians in their struggle for economic opportunity.

If you believe your rights have been violated you should speak with an experienced Pennsylvania law firm.