Shick v. Shirey

• Decision Date: 20 August 1998
• Citation: 716 A.2d 1231,552 Pa. 590
• Parties: , 136 Lab.Cas. P 58,472, 14 IER Cases 480 David L. SHICK, Appellant, v. David L. SHIREY t/d/b/a Donald L. Shirey Lumber, Appellee.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Page 1231

716 A.2d 1231

552 Pa. 590, 136 Lab.Cas. P 58,472,

14 IER Cases 480

David L. SHICK, Appellant, v. David L. SHIREY t/d/b/a Donald L. Shirey Lumber, Appellee.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued March 11, 1998.

Decided Aug. 20, 1998.

Ronald T. Elliott for David L. Shick.

Irwin W. Aronson, Camp Hill, for Amicus-AFL-CIO.

Fred Hait, Carlisle, for Amicus-PA Trial Lawyers Ass'n.

John Drayer for Donald Shirey.

Before FLAHERTY, C.J., and ZAPPALA, CAPPY, CASTILLE, NIGRO and NEWMAN, JJ.

OPINION

ZAPPALA, Justice.

This appeal presents a question of first impression of whether Pennsylvania law recognizes a common law cause of action for wrongful discharge of an at-will employee for filing a workers' compensation claim. We hold that an at-will employee who alleges retaliatory discharge for the filing of a workers' compensation claim has stated a cause of action for which relief may be granted under the law of this Commonwealth.

On May 5, 1994, David L. Shick filed a civil action against his former employer, Donald L. Shirey, t/d/b/a Donald L. Shirey Lumber, alleging that Shirey had wrongfully discharged him from his employment in retaliation for his exercise of his rights under the Workers' Compensation Act. Shick's complaint asserted that he was hired as Shirey's employee in October 1991. On September 13, 1993, Shick sustained an injury to his left knee while pushing a cart. He underwent surgery for the knee injury on December 13, 1993. A notice of compensation payable, which described the injury as a partial tear of the left medial meniscus, was issued pursuant to the Workers' Compensation Act on November 30, 1993. The weekly compensation rate payable was $162.92, based on an average weekly wage of $181.02. Shick received benefits until March 1, 1994, when he was released to return to work by his physician. He notified Shirey on the day of his release that he was available for work.

Shick's complaint alleged that Shirey informed him that he no longer had a job due to his pursuit of his workers' compensation claim. It further alleged that Shirey's intent in discharging him from his employment was to retaliate for Shick's exercise of his rights under the Workers' Compensation Act, 77 P.S. § 1 et seq., and that the discharge was in violation of the public policy of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Shick asserted that he had been unable to find gainful employment and requested damages to compensate him for lost wages, lost insurance benefits and emotional distress.

Preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer were filed by Shirey. Shirey asserted that the complaint failed to state a cause of action because there was no allegation that Shick had a written contract of employment for a specific term or that Shick was a member of a collective bargaining unit, and Pennsylvania law does not recognize a claim for retaliatory discharge of an at-will employee who files for workers' compensation benefits. Shirey further asserted that the complaint did not state a cause of action for emotional distress in the absence of any allegation of intentional infliction of emotional distress or physical harm.

Shick subsequently filed an amended complaint which eliminated the request for damages due to emotional distress, but which otherwise was identical to his original complaint. Shirey renewed his preliminary objections to the wrongful discharge claim. After oral argument, the trial court entered an order sustaining the demurrer. Shick filed a motion for reconsideration which was denied.

The trial court's order was affirmed by a panel of the Superior Court on August 13, 1996. Shick filed an application for reargument, which was granted on October 18, 1996. The en banc Superior Court subsequently affirmed the trial court's order, concluding that no precedent or statutory language existed to find that the termination of an employee who has filed for workers' compensation benefits states a cause of action for retaliatory discharge. ¹ We granted Shick's petition for allowance of appeal and now reverse the Superior Court's order.

For purposes of reviewing the dismissal of a complaint based upon preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer, the averments of the complaint must be taken as true, except to the extent that they constitute conclusions of law. Willet v. Pennsylvania Medical Catastrophe Loss Fund, 549 Pa. 613, 702 A.2d 850 (1997).

Since sustaining the demurrer results in a denial of the pleader's claim or dismissal of his suit, a preliminary objection in the nature of a demurrer should be sustained only in cases that clearly and without a doubt fail to state a claim for which relief may be granted.... If the facts as pleaded state a claim for which relief may be granted under any theory of law then there is sufficient doubt to require the preliminary objection in the nature of a demurrer to be rejected.

County of Allegheny v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 507 Pa. 360, 372, 490 A.2d 402, 408 (1985) (citations omitted).

Applying this standard of review, we must accept as true the allegations in Shick's complaint that he received workers' compensation benefits for a work-related injury until he was released to return to work by his physician, that he notified Shirey of his release and availability to work on the day of his release, and that Shirey informed Shick that he no longer had a job due to his pursuit of workers' compensation benefits.

Shick acknowledges that Pennsylvania law recognizes the doctrine of at-will employment so that, as a general rule, no cause of action exists based upon an employer's termination of an at-will employment relationship. He asserts that the allegations set forth in his complaint were sufficient to state a cause of action for wrongful discharge because exceptions to that doctrine have been established when the discharge violates public policy. Shick argues that a clear mandate of public policy evinced by the Workers' Compensation Act is violated when an employee is discharged in a retaliatory manner for exercising his legal rights thereunder. Shick further contends that the Superior Court's refusal to recognize a cause of action for wrongful discharge under such circumstances places an employee who sustains a work-related injury in the untenable position of choosing between exercising his legal rights and seeking compensation for his injury under the Act, or foregoing his legal rights in an effort to maintain his livelihood.

Shirey contends that the Workers' Compensation Act assumes that "injured employes will be discharged to make room for able bodied individuals who can do the work." Shirey claims that the need for a fluid work force and the unreasonable hardship borne by an employer who cannot immediately replace a crucial employee who has been injured on the job are countervailing reasons for refusing to recognize a cause of action for retaliatory discharge when an employee is discharged in a retaliatory manner for exercising his legal rights thereunder. Shirey further contends that this Court is without the authority to recognize a common law cause of action for wrongful discharge because the scope and remedies afforded by the act are the province of the legislature.

Generally, an employer "may discharge an employee with or without cause, at pleasure, unless restrained by some contract." Henry v. Pittsburg & Lake Erie Railroad Company, 139 Pa. 289, 297, 21 A. 157 (1891). "Absent a statutory or contractual provision to the contrary, the law has taken for granted the power of either party to terminate an employment relationship for any or no reason." Geary v. U.S. Steel Corporation, 456 Pa. 171, 175, 319 A.2d 174, 176 (1974). The employer's privilege to dismiss an employee with or without cause is not absolute, however, and may be qualified by the dictates of public policy.

George Geary was an at-will employee who sold tubular products to the oil and gas industry for the United States Steel Corporation. Geary was dismissed after voicing his concerns over the inadequacy of the testing for one of the company's new products and the potential for serious danger to users of the product. In his complaint, Geary alleged that he continued to voice his misgivings to his superiors even after he was ordered to follow directions and that, as a result, the product was reevaluated and withdrawn from the market. Geary further asserted that he was wrongfully dismissed from his employment because of those events. The complaint was dismissed after the trial court sustained the employer's preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer. The Superior Court affirmed.

Geary argued on appeal that his dismissal for opposing the marketing of a product which he believed to be defective violated public policy. We acknowledged that "the potential for abuse of an employer's power of dismissal is particularly serious where an employee must exercise independent, expert judgment in matters of public safety," but found that Geary did not possess any expert qualifications and his duties did not extend to making judgments in matters of public safety. Geary's conduct, while praiseworthy, demonstrated that he had failed to follow the company's standard operational procedures in bypassing his immediate superiors with his complaints. We found no basis for inferring that Geary's discharge was a retaliatory gesture designed to punish him for drawing attention to the product's defects, especially in view of the fact that the product was withdrawn from the market.

While we agreed that employees should be encouraged to express their views on the quality of an employer's products, we concluded that, under the circumstances, Geary's dismissal did not state a cause of action for wrongful discharge. Nevertheless, we foresaw exceptions to the general rule that there is no common law cause of action against an employer for dismissal of an at-will employee where the dismissal would threaten clear...