Danielle M. Vugrinovich, Attorney

Danielle concentrates her practice in the area of employment law relative to public and private entities. She has litigated federal claims brought pursuant to Title VII, the Family Medical Leave Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as pendant state law claims for whistleblower activities and violations of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. She also has experience litigating employment cases at the administrative level before both the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.

In addition, Danielle regularly defends police officers and municipal officials in claims for alleged Section 1983 civil rights violations.

Further, a fair amount of her practice includes litigating Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claims brought by debtors against the collectors assigned to recover the debt.

In 1998, Danielle graduated from Duquesne University with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. In 2001, she earned her Juris Doctorate from Duquesne University School of Law.

Significant Representative Matters

• Obtained summary judgment in a civil rights case in which the plaintiff alleged a violation of his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights claiming excessive use of force was applied during his arrest and detention.
  
  
• Obtained favorable decision based upon governmental immunity in municipal tort action alleging negligence of the municipal authority's contractor in the connection of the water line to the plaintiff's residence.
  

• Summary judgment granted in a private entity employment case in which the Plaintiff alleged gender and age discrimination while employed as a diagnostic imaging marketing representative.
  

• Summary judgment granted in a civil rights case in which the plaintiff alleged a violation of his Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure and claimed that he was subject to racial profiling.
  

• Summary judgment granted in a civil rights case in which the plaintiff alleged the violation of his First, Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983, violation of 1985 and state law claims of malicious prosecution, false arrest/false imprisonment, and conspiracy against a municipality for its police officers' response to a call from his residence.
  

• Summary judgment granted in municipal entity employment case in which the employee alleged she was subjected to race and disability discrimination after she was terminated following a reduction in force.