Immunizing Against Wrongful Termination Claims: How Pennsylvania Employers Can Avoid Costly Claims by At-Will Employees

Author: Matthew Junk & Jordan Pinkstaff

Brief Introduction

At-will employment agreements provide a great level of flexibility for employees and employers alike. These agreements can also create strong protections against wrongful termination claims. Employers can better protect themselves against these claims by carefully crafting their employment policies and directives to avoid directly implicating public policy mandates.

Factual Background

In August 2020, at the height of COVID uncertainty, Cynthia Deasey began working for Holy Redeemer Health Systems’ (“Redeemer”) Cancer Center as a Nurse Practitioner. Redeemer, a private entity, entered into an at-will employment agreement with Ms. Deasey.

In September 2021, Redeemer instituted a mandatory vaccine policy, requiring all employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. It permitted employees unwilling to comply with the directive to request a special exemption for sincerely held religious beliefs. Redeemer denied Ms. Deasey’s exemption application, she refused to comply with the policy, and Redeemer subsequently terminated her in October 2021.

Procedural Background

Ms. Deasey sued Redeemer and several of its executives alleging wrongful termination. The Redeemer defendants filed preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer, a motion challenging plaintiff’s wrongful termination claims as a matter of law and requested their dismissal. Defendants argued Ms. Deasey’s wrongful termination claims were deficient because she failed to identify a Pennsylvania public policy prohibiting her termination for noncompliance with Redeemer’s vaccine policy. The trial court agreed and dismissed Ms. Deasey’s wrongful termination claim without leave to amend. An appeal followed.

On appeal, Ms. Deasey argued she pleaded sufficient facts to overcome defendants’ preliminary objections. The appellate court analyzed whether Ms. Deasey’s termination was based on a mandatory policy that violated Pennsylvania public policy.

Appellate Holding

The Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed the trial court’s order sustaining defendant’s demurrer. The appellate court ultimately held plaintiff was unable to connect her termination to an action in violation of Pennsylvania public policy.[i]

The Superior Court recognized that Pennsylvania law generally provides that an at-will employee is prevented from alleging wrongful termination against an employer without a statutory or express contractual provision which would allow such a claim to be brought.[ii] This general rule is subject to a narrow exception, which allows an employee to allege wrongful termination against its employer in circumstances where terminating an employee for their noncompliance would threaten public policy mandates.[iii]

According to the Superior Court, Ms. Deasey could not support her wrongful termination claims with public policy provisions set forth in the Pennsylvania Constitution, the Pennsylvania Bill of Rights, or state statutes, because those sources invoked public policy which did not clearly and directly apply to the conduct alleged by Ms. Deasey.[iv] Rather, her arguments relied on Pennsylvania public policy which was applicable to different parties, including action by the Pennsylvania government and medical providers to their patients, which existed to protect a different class of persons.

This distinction created a “gray area” about the meaning of the vaccine mandate and what conduct was required and precluded.[v] Because this public policy did not clearly and directly prevent a private entity from terminating an at-will employee for their refusal to abide by a mandatory vaccine policy, the court upheld the dismissal of Ms. Deasey’s wrongful termination claims.

This Pennsylvania appellate decision establishes a narrow limit to a Pennsylvania plaintiff’s ability to pursue a wrongful termination claim against a private employer with whom they have an at-will employment agreement. To fall outside this limit, a successful wrongful termination claim must show: (1) compliance or noncompliance with an employer’s mandate would result in the violation of a law; (2) prior legal authority illustrates a right of an at-will employee not to comply with the mandate of a private employer; or (3) compliance or noncompliance with the mandate would clearly and unambiguously violate applicable public policy.[vi] If a plaintiff alleging wrongful termination cannot identify a clear and unambiguous public policy that would prevent termination of an at-will employment agreement, their claim will fail.[vii]

Key Takeaways

In Pennsylvania, private employers may be largely shielded from wrongful termination claims by their at-will employees. Additionally, if employers carefully construct their policies in a way consistent with Pennsylvania statutory and common law and do not clearly or directly implicate public policy against such directives, they are likely to be protected against wrongful termination claims by their at-will employees who are unwilling to comply. Finally, a private employer may be successful in defending a wrongful termination claim by an at-will employee who is implicating public policy by showing that there exists a reasonable difference of opinion regarding whether their conduct is unambiguously prohibited by the public policy relied upon by the plaintiff.

Sources

[i] Deasey v. Holy Redeemer Health Sys., Inc., No. 2398 EDA 2022, 2024 WL 2738740, at 6 (Pa. Super. 2024) (citing Weaver v. Harpster, 601 Pa. 488, 492, 975 A.2d 555, 562 (2009)). Pursuant to 210 Pa. Code § 65.37, unpublished, non-precedential decisions filed after May 1, 2019, may be cited for their persuasive value.

[ii] ?Ibid.

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] Id. at pp. 7-9.

[v] Id. at p. 11.

[vi] Id. at pp. 11-12.

[vii] Id. at p. 12.

View this article on the Tyson & Mendes website here: https://www.tysonmendes.com/immunizing-against-wrongful-termination-claims-how-pennsylvania-employers-can-avoid-costly-claims-by-at-will-employees/

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