Labor & Employment Attorneys Successfully Defend Drexel University in Two Matters
PHILADELPHIA - September 28, 2021 - Joseph Centeno, co-chair of the firm's Labor & Employment section and Charlene Barker Gedeus, counsel in the Labor & Employment section, successfully defended Drexel University in two separate cases.
On September 15, 2021, the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed summary judgment in a matter involving a former employee who claimed intentional interference with her employment following her termination. The Court affirmed the decision of the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia County to grant summary judgment in favor of the University and the manager named in the lawsuit on claim of Intentional Interference with Contractual Relations (IICR). The Superior Court affirmed that a claim of IICR is not cognizable in the context of presently existing at-will employment relationship notwithstanding the fact that such claims are viable where the relationship at issue is a prospective at-will employment relationship.
On September 27, 2021, the Third Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision granting summary judgment in favor of Drexel University on claims asserted under the Family Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. The suit was brought by a former employee whose employment was terminated for excessive absenteeism after repeatedly failing to cure deficiencies in her FMLA paperwork. More information on the case can be found in this Law360 article.