Jaime S. Tuite

Jaime S. Tuite helps businesses resolve their employee issues inside and outside of court. She defends employers in discrimination, whistleblower and wage and hour lawsuits. She practices in Pennsylvania, Florida, West Virginia and Ohio, and she has litigated over a hundred cases in state and federal courts. Her practice spans across multiple industries, including financial, higher education, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, energy, pharmaceutical and hospitality.

Jaime also practices before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and she successfully argued a constitutional due process issue that involved the intersection of health care and higher education issues. The precedential decision resulted in the reversal of a jury verdict. See Borrell v. Bloomsburg University, et al., 870 F.3d 154 (3d Cir. 2017), cert. denied (2018).

She counsels employers on hiring, disciplining and firing employees, including drafting employment agreements, assisting in large reductions in force, providing sensitivity and management training, and investigating claims of harassment and discrimination. In addition to employment investigations, Jaime conducts Title IX and compliance investigations.

Jaime routinely litigates restrictive covenants cases and obtains temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions for employers enforcing employment agreements.

She represented employers in the following recent non-compete litigation matters, including:

• Obtained Ex Parte temporary restraining order and stipulated to court order victory for a roofing client in a non-compete case.
• Obtained decision for a permanent injunction for a building products client after a two-day trial, finding that the defendant had violated his non-compete and ordered him to cease and desist for one year.
• Protected a computer software engineering company from a key marketing executive working for a competitor in violation of his national non-compete agreement and caused the company’s trade secrets to remain safe through a court order.
• Obtained a court order restricting a research and development professional from working for a competitor based upon the inevitable disclosure doctrine.
• Obtained a temporary restraining order in federal court preventing a senior buyer from working for a competitor of a retail merchandising client.
• Obtained a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction order in federal court to prevent a high-level executive from working for a competitor of a large steel distributor.
• Represented a major Pennsylvania-based roofing company in preventing its former employees from violating a non-solicitation agreement by performing work for its customers, which included an injunction hearing in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.
• Represented a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer in preventing its former employee from violating his employment agreement by capitalizing on a business method that the manufacturer client owned.

Jaime represented employers in the following recent employment discrimination matters, including:

• Won summary judgment for a large hospital involving age and retaliation claims.
• Won summary judgment for a large non-profit organization on Equal Pay Act and retaliation claims, resulting in the Third Circuit affirming the district court.
• Defended a large research and development organization in a national origin and retaliation lawsuit, resulting in a victorious district court decision granting summary judgment and Third Circuit decision affirming summary judgment.
• Defended an international recruiting firm in a race discrimination and retaliation lawsuit, resulting in a victorious district court decision granting summary judgment and Third Circuit decision affirming summary judgment.
• Defended a broadcasting company in a federal court jury trial involving allegations of reverse race discrimination, sex discrimination and retaliation by a former employee.
• Defended a distributor of petroleum products in employment litigation in West Virginia involving claims of age discrimination, retaliation and various tort claims.

Jaime represented employers in the following Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law (WPCL) disputes:

• Defended energy companies in FWA collective actions involving misclassification of independent contractors.
• Defended a mortgage company in a FLSA collective action involving hundreds of plaintiffs against claims that the company had misclassified its loans officers.
• Defended a religious organization in a FLSA retaliation and wrongful termination case brought by a former employee, including a victorious decision from the Third Circuit to affirm a successful result in the lower court.
• Represented a major broadcasting company in a jury trial in Allegheny County on breach of contract and WPCL claims brought by a former executive, including a victorious argument where the Court granted a compulsory non-suit.
• Defended a significant mutual fund manager in a FLSA collective action and WPCL class action that resulted in a dismissal of the case from federal court.

Jaime's recent litigation experience extends beyond typical employment litigation and includes:

• Defended a university in a qui tam action involving claims under the False Claims Act and Pennsylvania Whistleblower Act.
• Defended a significant mutual fund manager in a FINRA arbitration involving breach of contract, defamation and other various tort claims.
• Defended a regional healthcare provider in a qui tam action, initiated by former employees, involving claims under the False Claims Act and various tort claims.
• Defended an independent, public entity from a lawsuit involving Section 1983 and breach of contract claims, including a victorious decision by the district court dismissing the lawsuit and the Third Circuit affirming that decision.
• Defended a financial service company and a large research and development organization from multiple lawsuits involving ADA-compliance issues.

Jaime serves on Buchanan's E-Discovery Team and Pro-Bono Committee, and is Chair of the Associates Committee. In 2007, she coordinated Buchanan's Summer Associate Program.

On February 2, 2015, the District Court Judges from the Western District of Pennsylvania appointed Jaime to serve on the Lawyers Advisory Committee of the Judicial Council of the Third Circuit for a three-year term. As a member of the Advisory Committee, Jaime served as liaison between the court and legal community. Jaime was also appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania's Local Rules Advisory Committee to review their current Local Civil, Admiralty and Criminal Rules of Court. As part of the appointment, Jaime served on the ESI Issues subcommittee.

In 2018, Jaime was selected by her peers to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list, after being named to the Rising Stars list consecutively since 2010. Consecutively since 2016, she's been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America^® list in the Litigation - Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Labor and Employment and/or Employment Law – Management categories. In 2006, she was recognized among "Women on the Verge" as part of a special supplement of The Legal Intelligencer's "Women in the Profession." Jaime updated the Employment Libel & Privacy Law treatise for many years regarding recent Pennsylvania developments.

From April 2003 to September 2004, Jaime served as a law clerk for the Honorable Joy Flowers Conti in the Western District of Pennsylvania.