Although we often plead or defend various state law claims ancillary to our more-usual employment discrimination actions, they rarely drive cases and we rarely have the opportunity to discuss such claims in this column. But the recent post-trial decision in Accurso v. Infra-Red Services, No. 13-7509 (E.D. Pa. Feb. 16, 2018) involves a wide variety of seldom-litigated claims.

Roofing Business

The rather convoluted facts involve the employment of Peter Accurso by Infra-Red Services (IRS) and Roofing Dynamics Group (RDG), both roofing services companies connected to Brian Land.  Accurso was responsible for soliciting business for both companies. In 2008, he was suspected of diverting business from RDG to friends and was directed to take a polygraph test as part of the investigation. Accurso took another polygraph in 2010. There was a dispute over whether the 2010 polygraph was mutually agreed upon or if Accurso was forced to take the test. Accurso claimed that he was fired because of the polygraph results. He also claimed that he was fired because Land wanted to divert Accurso’s business to his significant other.