Constructive Discharge: Why It's Illegal to Intentionally Create Intolerable Working Conditions with the Intention of Forcing an Employee to Resign

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Constructive Discharge: Why It’s Illegal to Intentionally Create Intolerable Working Conditions with the Intention of Forcing an Employee to Resign

Intentionally creating intolerable working conditions with the intention of forcing an employee to resign is illegal because it violates an employee’s rights and can cause significant harm to their career, financial stability, and mental well-being. This practice, known as illegal constructive discharge, is a form of wrongful termination and is prohibited by state and federal laws.

Elements of Pennsylvania Illegal Constructive Discharge

In Pennsylvania, the elements of illegal constructive discharge are:

  1. Working conditions were so intolerable that a reasonable person would feel compelled to resign.
  2. The intolerable conditions were a result of the employer’s deliberate action or inaction.
  3. The employer intended to force the employee to resign.

To establish a claim of illegal constructive discharge, an employee must show that their employer made their working conditions intolerable, that the employer intended to force them to resign, and that they had no reasonable alternative but to quit. The employee must also show that the intolerable working conditions were a result of the employer’s deliberate action or inaction, and that a reasonable person would have felt compelled to resign under similar circumstances.

Examples of intolerable working conditions that may constitute illegal constructive discharge include discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or other unlawful conduct that creates a hostile work environment. Additionally, an employer’s refusal to address or remedy intolerable working conditions can also constitute deliberate inaction, leading to a claim of illegal constructive discharge.

Professional Exit Strategy

A professional exit strategy is a plan that an employee develops with the help of an experienced employment attorney to ensure a smooth and successful transition when leaving their job. The goal of a professional exit strategy is to protect the employee’s legal rights and interests and to ensure fair treatment and compensation. An attorney can also help an employee negotiate the terms of their severance package to ensure that they receive the maximum amount of compensation possible. There are several reasons why a person should consider approaching MKO Employment Law LLC for a professional exit strategy:

  1. Experience and expertise: MKO Employment Law LLC has extensive experience in helping employees develop professional exit strategies. Our attorneys are knowledgeable about employment law and can provide guidance and support to ensure that your rights and interests are protected.
  2. Tailored approach: At MKO Employment Law LLC, we understand that each employee’s situation is unique, and we work with you to develop an exit strategy that is tailored to your specific needs and goals. We take the time to understand your situation, answer your questions, and provide personalized guidance and support.
  3. Maximizing benefits: Our attorneys are experienced in negotiating severance packages and reviewing employment contracts to ensure that you receive fair treatment and compensation. We can help you maximize the benefits you receive when leaving your job and protect your legal rights and interests.
  4. Avoiding litigation: A professional exit strategy can help you avoid the stress and uncertainty of litigation. By working with our attorneys to develop an exit strategy, you can minimize the risk of disputes and lawsuits.
  5. Peace of mind: Knowing that you have a professional exit strategy in place can provide you with peace of mind and reduce the stress and uncertainty of leaving your job. Our attorneys can provide you with the guidance and support you need to ensure a smooth and successful transition.

At MKO Employment Law LLC, we are committed to helping employees protect their legal rights and interests during the job transition process. If you are considering leaving your job, contact us to schedule a consultation and learn more about how we can help you develop a professional exit strategy that meets your specific needs and goals.

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After dispensing thousands of legal consultations to potential clients, I can easily say it’s my favorite part of my practice. My guidance, even if I can’t accept them as a client, helps people immeasurably in figuring out what to do and how to move forward with their lives. I make a measurable impact every single day on many people. Who else can say that about their job? I love it. Call me. – Michael Kraemer, Esq.

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What Pennsylvania Illegal Constructive Discharge Entails

Illegal constructive discharge occurs when an employer intentionally creates intolerable working conditions with the intention of forcing an employee to resign. This is a form of wrongful termination where the employer does not directly fire the employee but instead makes the work environment so unbearable that the employee feels they have no choice but to quit. For example, an employee who has repeatedly complained about sexual harassment by their supervisor, but the employer fails to take any action to address the harassment. The supervisor may then retaliate against the employee, making their working conditions unbearable, such as by increasing their workload, assigning them undesirable tasks, or isolating them from their coworkers. If the employee resigns because of the intolerable working conditions, they may have a claim for illegal constructive discharge.

Unemployment Assistance Under the Voluntary Quit Standard

If an employee resigns due to intolerable working conditions created by their employer, they may be eligible for unemployment benefits in Pennsylvania. However, to receive benefits, the employee must meet the voluntary quit standard of 402(b). To meet the voluntary quit standard, the employee must show that they had no reasonable alternative but to resign because the working conditions were intolerable. The employee must also have made reasonable efforts to resolve the intolerable conditions with their employer before resigning. At MKO Employment Law LLC, we have the experience and knowledge to help employees navigate the legal process and receive the unemployment benefits they are entitled to. We can provide guidance and representation during an unemployment appeal hearing to help employees meet the voluntary quit standard and receive the benefits they need and deserve.

Constructive Discharge – Protect Your Rights

In conclusion, at MKO Employment Law LLC, we are committed to protecting employees’ rights and fighting against illegal constructive discharge. We have the experience and knowledge to help employees navigate the legal process, develop an exit strategy, and recover damages for the harm they have suffered. If you believe you have been the victim of illegal constructive discharge, it’s important to take action to protect your rights and seek the help of a top or super employment lawyer. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and learn more about how we can help you.

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“Providing you a path forward in your life, career, and recovering the compensation you deserve.” 

MKO is a “boutique firm” which means that we focus on a niche area and offer highly specialized services to clients who are looking for the personal touch within our area of expertise: Employment Law. Boutique law firms are not a general practice or one-stop legal shop, and that’s a good thing. You need one good attorney who knows the ins and outs of the area of law that’s relevant to your case. Look for a law firm that primarily practices the area of law that you need. If that’s all they do, chances are, they do it very well. We see each legal dispute as an opportunity to find a fair and equitable resolution without destroying your reputation, resume, job prospects, income, and if avoidable, not subjecting you, your family, friends, and former coworkers to unnecessary, highly invasive, time consuming, stressful, and ultimately public litigation. MKO, “Providing you a path forward in your life, career, and recovering the compensation you deserve.™” Confidentiality is key, for everyone. Are you a victim? MKO’s employment lawyers are always available for the clients. You can contact us anytime for a case assessment and evaluation. 

Ten Reasons You Want MKO As Your Employment Counsel

1. Focused Employment Law Practice

MKO is a “boutique law firm” which means that we concentrate on this niche area and offer highly focused employment law services to clients who are looking for the personal touch. Boutique law firms are not a one-stop legal shop, and that’s a good thing. While a long roster of diverse legal services may look impressive on paper, it’s fairly pointless in practice. You need one good attorney who knows the ins and outs of the area of law that’s relevant to your case.  Look for a law firm that only practices in the area of law that you need. If that’s all they do, chances are, they do it very well.

2. Technology Driven & Experts in the Cloud

We provide immediate legal consultations, operate a paperless law firm, use advanced cloud storage, digital signatures, electronic forms, and can review your documents using screen share technology instantaneously. MKO is technologically savvy, nimble, flexible, and efficient. 

We are not confined to our office, chained to a desktop computer, or burdened with IT maintenance. Thanks to the smart use of technology we can focus on providing our clients with the best representation possible. By streamlining our practice we can focus on what our clients hire us to do – advocate on their behalf and work diligently toward a desired result.

3. Legal Advice Instantly From The Comfort of Home

MKO can provide superior legal services through adaptive use of new technology and provide the majority of legal assistance while you are comfortably working from your home. It just also happens it's better, easier, and faster for our clients - they really appreciate it. We seamlessly and interactively collaborate with you in a relaxed environment where you have all of your files in your immediate control. We find this is the absolute best way to provide legal advice to our clients on complex legal issues, hands down.

The old style of coming into our office with binders of disjointed and unsearchable paperwork, of which we to organize and figure out on the fly, is incredibly wasteful, time-consuming, inefficient, and not highly productive. Because of our integration with technology, we are ready to work with you on highly intricate matters on a moments notice, no matter where you (or we) are.

4. Discreet When Necessary

While many cases require that we go to court to seek justice, there are a substantial number of disputes that need to be handled discreetly. We see each legal dispute as an opportunity to find a fair and equitable resolution without destroying your reputation, resume, job prospects, income, and if avoidable, not subjecting you, your family, friends, and former coworkers to unnecessary, highly invasive, time consuming, stressful, and ultimately public litigation. MKO, “Providing you a path forward in your life, career, and recovering the compensation you deserve.™”

Confidentiality is key, for everyone. 

5. Experience, Professional, & Integrity

Through representing and managing thousands of employment situations, rest assured there is help or a path forward for your situation. For example, Partner Christi Wallace has personally represented over 1000 clients and has managed hundreds more for associates that worked for her in just her first 10 years!

6. Highly Responsive Attorneys

We always get the question, "If I choose to have you represent me, will it be difficult for me to get in touch with you?"

Absolutely not, we even make ourselves available to clients beyond our normal business hours! Further, when you call us your attorney answers, not a secretary who puts you on hold for 20 minutes, then tells you that you can leave a voicemail for your attorney. Besides the MKO office phone number, our clients can contact their attorney via mobileSMS & textingbusiness email, and an urgent emergency email. For example, we can often respond to a text message in just a few minutes. Experience a better, faster, and more efficient way to work with an attorney. MKO believes that clients can and should depend on the fact that we’ll respond quickly.

7. Attorneys Available 74+ Hours Per Week

Employment Attorneys are available at least 74 hours per week by phone, email, and text messaging. Don't be fooled by marketing, many law firms are using non-attorney 3rd party answering services and advertising "Phones Answered 24 Hours A Day, 7 Days A Week." We pick up our own phones, respond to our own emails and text messages, and use real attorneys, 74+ hours per week. 

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8. Practical Advice From Seasoned Professionals

MKO strongly believes that every situation is distinctly unique and therefore we must endeavor to find the right solution for that particular issue. Because we are a boutique employment law firm, we strive to find unique and innovation solutions for our clients in every circumstance. We take action when necessary, put together deals when possible, and work with our clients so we can be creative and find smart solutions instead of needless litigation. We want to protect your interests now and in the future.

9. Contingency Representation

Contingency Legal Representation is where you do not have to pay your lawyer up front. This is fantastic if you are offered this option. Lawyers and litigation costs are incredibly expensive if you pay hourly. With contingency representation, you are not faced with large legal bills and expenses that are daunting and causes slow downs while waiting for a retainer to be replenished. Further, when you're offering to pay anyone up front and hourly, it seems they'll take almost any case - so long as they are getting paid. Funny how that works. Here's how we help:

  • People can afford an attorney. – Without the benefit of contingency, it would be very difficult for a person who was recently separated from their job to afford an employment lawyer.
  • MKO only gets paid if there is a recovery.  – We put our money where our mouth is, if we don't get a recovery, you don't owe legal fees and costs.
  • Contingency representation says something about your case. – Considering MKO only will get paid if there is a recovery, you can assume we like to cases that we believe have merit.
  • Helps people can move on with their lives – Instead of racking up debt to pay for legal help, our contingency representation lets you move on with your life as we deal with the legal stuff. This is exactly what MKO stands for, “Providing you a path forward in your life, career, and recovering the compensation you deserve.™"
10. Keeping Costs Low To Focus On Your Case

Our clients understand that their representation is are far more important than an expensive address. Some law firms might be battling an extremely burdensome and large cost overhead. In other words, to survive, they may need to be a "factory firm" or "volume practice" that needs to process a vast amount of cases to be able to afford their superfluous costs, expenses, and overheadWe aggressively keep costs down so we can focus on you.

Don't want to be treated like an account number, a settlement figure, or a wheel that needs to be turned to keep the law firm getting paid? We keep our costs low and use this financial freedom for our clients best interests.

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Wrongful Termination

We help people fired, or soon to be fired, when they have been treated unfairly, illegally, or unjustly.

Employment Discrimination

Race, religion, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), orientation, disability.

Professional Exit Strategies

Remove yourself from a toxic workplace or help with a job loss. Lawyers give you an exit strategy.

Medical Accommodations

Employees needing physical or mental health/wellness accommodations are protected.

Disability Discrimination

Many health conditions can be considered disabilities and are  legally protected including retaliation.  

EEOC or PHRC Agencies

Aggressive lawyering in the state and federal agencies can mean quick, quiet, and lucrative resolutions.

Age Discrimination

For those over 40 years old (but older is preferred) that experience bias based on your age.

Sexual Harassment

A range of actions from mild transgressions to sexual abuse or sexual assault. A highly serious offense.

I trusted Mr. Kraemer with a rather difficult period of time for my family, and we came out on top. He is trustworthy and honest, incredibly helpful, and understanding. Five stars aren’t enough! Him and his staff are well experienced, and won’t let up until the truth is known and justice is served. Michael, it’s been a pleasure. I hope I never need your services again! If I do, I will not hesitate to give you a call.

Bob B.

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Halfway to legal help. If you don't get paid, neither do we. All you need to do is call MKO!

Employment Law Ready✔ ™

Michael Kraemer was the only lawyer who took my case and would be the only lawyer I’d rely on. He kept me informed and was very intellectual on the whole subject that my case was revolved around. I give Mr. Kraemer a 10 out of 10 and I would refer him and his associates to anyone who wants a well defined lawyer.

Andrew L.

Wrongful Termination & Discrimination Questions

To Ask During Your Free Lawyer Consultation

  • =What does an employment discrimination, wrongful termination lawyer do?

  • =Do I need an employment lawyer, what options do I have?

  • =Can a employment attorney really help my case, even if I still work there?

  • =When should I hire an employment law firm? 

  • =Is discrimination, illegal conduct, and severance negotiations that common?

  • =How do you retain an employment attorney and is it really this easy? 

  • =How do I know when I need an employment lawyer?

  • =When should I address discrimination at the office?

  • =What is my case worth? 

  • =Do I have a retaliation, wrongful termination, or discrimination case?

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