employment litigation

An employee who signed a non-compete agreement abruptly resigns, only to start working for his former employer’s direct competitor.

An employer doesn’t provide the expected severance benefits to a departing employee.

At-will employment is terminated soon after the employee’s spouse is diagnosed with an illness that will require costly medical treatment – or just before the employee would have become fully-vested in the employer’s pension plan.

An employee who is a member of a protected class, and who was terminated for poor performance, threatens to sue her former employer, alleging that the reasons for termination were pretextual.

BLF attorneys have experience in litigating employment disputes arising from situations like those above, in federal and state court, as well as in arbitration and mediation settings. Once an employment lawsuit has been filed, BLF attorneys are committed to seeking a prompt and efficient resolution, mindful of the heavy burden litigation places a client’s time and resources.

Our representative engagements in this area include:

• Representing a regional corporation in a racial discrimination claim brought by an employee terminated for poor work performance. BLF removed the matter to federal court and, at the close of discovery, moved for summary judgment. The matter was resolved shortly after BLF filed its motion.
• Representing an executive in a dispute with his former employer over termination of employment and non-payment of severance benefits. Following removal of the case to federal court, BLF asserted federal and common law counterclaims, including claims under ERISA. The case culminated in a settlement that was favorable to BLF’s client.
• BLF successfully defended an action brought against its client by an independent contractor whose contract had been prematurely terminated for sending inappropriate emails to one of the company’s employees. The matter was tried before a Judge in New Castle County, Delaware who found in favor of BLF’s client.
• Successfully defending an employee of an IT firm who was sued for breach of a non-competition agreement 
• Representing the COO of a bank in a dispute with his former employer – involving claims for fraud, defamation, and breach of contract – that resulted in a substantial settlement on the eve of trial.
• Representing an employer in a Family Medical Leave Act case, in which the employee alleged that she had been fired for taking leave to attend to a family member’s illness.
• Obtaining a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on behalf of an employer in a matter involving a violation of a non-compete agreement by an executive of the company that had previously been terminated and had started working for a competitor in violation of his restrictive covenant.
• Successfully enforcing a non-compete agreement contained in an independent contractor agreement without litigation by leveraging the risks against the gains and thereby obtaining the best result for our client.
• Obtaining a settlement with an independent contractor, who had breached his agreement by accepting employment with the employer’s client.

The firm has defended employers against discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, including a matter before the Eastern District of Pennsylvania that was ultimately resolved in the client’s favor following summary judgment motions.

The firm has also represented employees in wrongful discharge matters involving major institutions in the city of Philadelphia.

For information on our Employment Counseling and Employee Relations services, click here. For information on our Business Tort services, click here.

Representative cases:

PNC v. Fifth Third Bank, et al. (N.D. IL, W. Div. 2014). BLF represented a financial institution asserting claims against former employees for breach of restrictive covenant and misappropriation of trade secrets. ... Read More

PNC Bank v. Superior Mortgage, et al. (E.D. Pa. 2012). In this misappropriation of trade secrets matter, BLF quickly obtained a Consent Order that required defendants to return all the misappropriated information. ... Read More

Diamond v. Vlahovic (E.D. Pa. 2006). This dispute arising out of breach of a poorly drafted contract to negotiate was resolved through mediation. ... Read More

Lawblog posts:

Is the restrictive covenant in my employment contract enforceable?

Employers cannot avoid paying overtime by varying regular pay rates

Companies using staffing agencies may be deemed joint employers liable for overtime pay

New Jersey employers: NJ Law Against Discrimination protects medical marijuana patients from adverse employment actions

OCR publishes document listing practices to prevent sexual harassment