Can a lawyer subpeona me to a former co-worker’s unemployment hearing?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can a lawyer subpeona me to a former co-worker’s unemployment hearing?
A woman from work got fired for taking damaged sheets from returns that were no good to our company and were going to be given to a charity. Her unemployment has been stopped and her lawyer called me and threatened to subpoena me to her unemployment appeal hearing since I was a witness. Can they do that? I don’t want to loose my job over her unemployment. I want no parts of this.
Asked on December 1, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If you were subponaed, you should talk to a lawyer about the possibility of incriminating yourself. Review the subpoena and see if it requires your presence. If it does, again, talk to a lawyer first and then consider just going in. No one said you have to volunteer all the information in the world and it sounds like you feel she did nothing wrong. So just be honest. You cannot be fired in retaliation for speaking because a) this is not your unemployment hearing and b) you didn't volunteer to be a witness, you were required to show up.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.