Electric City Aquarium & Reptile Den, LLC v. Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission

Summary

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court reviewed an adjudication of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission finding Electric City Aquarium & Reptile Den, LLC liable for retaliating against a former employee. The court held that the employee's complaints about coworker conduct did not constitute protected activity under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act because they did not identify unlawful sex discrimination or sexual harassment. The court reversed the Commission's adjudication and award of backpay and interest.

Holdings

1. The employee did not establish the first element of a prima facie retaliation claim because her oral and written complaints concerned a coworker's allegedly rude or harassing behavior but did not oppose a practice forbidden by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, such as sex discrimination or sexual harassment, of which the employer's decisionmaker was aware.
2. Even assuming the employee established a prima facie retaliation claim, she did not prove that the employer's stated reason for terminating her employment—financial difficulties requiring a reduction in reptile-curator positions—was pretextual.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the employee established the protected-activity element of a prima facie retaliation claim under Section 5(d) of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.
2. Whether the employee established that the employer's stated reason for terminating her employment—financial losses and the need to reduce staffing—was pretextual under the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework.

Disposition

reversed