Whistleblower claims of all types generally require proof of three elements; a complaint of conduct believed to be unlawful (protected activity), some form of discipline (an adverse action), and proof that the adverse action was motivated by the protected activity (causation). Oftentimes, the existence of an adverse action (such as termination) is undisputed. In whistleblower cases, the disputed issues typically relate to whether an individual engaged in protected activity and whether they can prove causation. The Pennsylvania Appellate Court, in an unpublished, non-precedential decision, recently addressed what evidence is sufficient to prove causation.
In the Pennsylvania case, David Olson sued Lehigh University alleging that he had been fired as a result of his internal complaint that the university reported inflated numbers of job postings and on-campus interviews. The trial court granted summary judgment to the University after finding that Olson did not present sufficient evidence to establish that his report resulted in his termination. The court noted that Olson did not “allege that his supervisors threatened to fire him or to impose any other adverse consequences because of his report.” The court ruled that Olson’s subjective contention that his supervisor “did not like the fact that the data was revealing inaccurate reporting, and the relationship changed after that”, and that “all of a sudden things got cold with [his] supervisor” was insufficient. The court...
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