Employment Law Principles OutlinedCase Study:

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Eakin was suspended with pay and benefits by Pennsylvania's Court of Judicial Discipline. Eakin opened a private Yahoo.com account in the fictitious name of "John Smith." Using the account Eakin shared e-mails including some that joked "about slapping a female employee's backside" and "about a woman beaten black and blue by her husband." The private e-mail address contained information "degrading to women, gays, and racial minorities." Two of the e-mails included sexually suggestive comments about Eakin's female secretary and his female office manager. Many of the e-mails were sent to other government employees and some were sent from his work computer. Eakin contends that he did not intend for the e-mails to become public. Eakin responded, "Perhaps my demeanor is one of the boys... But what I sent was to people who were also one of the boys. It was in the locker room." He argues that the e-mails have "nothing to do with (his) performance on the job." Pennsylvania's Court of Judicial Discipline said it "is deeply and profoundly troubled by even a remote possibility that the patently discriminatory and offensive views and attitudes expressed" "may have impacted Justice Eakin's judicial work." According to Pennsylvania's judicial canons judges must avoid "both impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in their professional and personal lives [while always showing] independence, fairness, impartiality, integrity and competence." It is interesting to note that a year earlier the Judicial Conduct Board examined the e-mails available at the time and concluded that they did not violate any rules for judicial conduct.

Assume that the issue of Justice Eakin's discipline has been filed in the court.