Employment

Employment law cases represent the largest single category of litigation currently pending in the federal district court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. This development comes as no surprise given the ever expanding statutory and regulatory developments affecting employers’ workplace obligations. In recognition of these developments and to meet the needs of the firm’s employer-clients, an Employment Law Department was established in 1989 which is chaired by William T. Salzer, Esquire.

The firm is an advocate for management in a wide variety of employment and labour law litigation including employment discrimination lawsuits brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination; employee benefits and pension plan litigation under the Employee Retirement and Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”); and wrongful discharge litigation and labour grievances pursued under collective bargaining agreements. We routinely provide consultation services to our clients who range from mid-size manufacturing concerns to Fortune 100 corporations on how to sift through the maze of overlapping legal requirements such as the ADA, the Family and Medical Leave Act, ERISA and state workers’ compensation law.

In addition to litigation in state and federal courts, the firm also provides representation to employers before state Fair Employment Practices agencies, such as the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and the Unemployment Compensation Bureau, and has appeared at numerous Fact Finding conferences. Successful management of administrative investigations has resulted in numerous agency dismissals for “no cause” including favourably negotiated settlements which have foreclosed future litigation costs for our clients.

Recently, the trend among insurers, the traditional client base of Swartz Campbell, has been to underwrite coverage for employment-related risks. In this regard, Swartz Campbell has been at the forefront of the defense industry. The firm is presently involved in handling employment claims, e.g. sex discrimination and harassment suits under Title VII, on behalf of insurers who issue employment practices liability insurance. As a result, Swartz Campbell is uniquely positioned to provide quality and efficient service to insurers underwriting employment-related risks and their policyholders in the defense of all employment-related, civil rights and employee benefit disputes.

In addition to our representation and consultation of management, we strive to keep our clients apprised of ongoing developments in employment law, employee benefits and other issues of concern to employers through our firm’s publication SIDEBAR and other in-house seminars.