News & Analysis as of

At-Will Employment Employer Liability Issues Employment Litigation

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

At-Will Doctrine Still Applies to Disciplinary Action Following Employer Investigations

Here is a common scenario faced by human resources professionals: An employee complains about unprofessional and bullying behavior by a coworker. After interviewing the two employees and other workers, the employer cannot...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Finds Internal Complaint About Care Recommendations Supports Wrongful Discharge Claim

North Carolina is an at-will employment state, but recognizes a limited exception from that rule for terminations that violate the state’s public policy. Courts have wrestled for years over the meaning of public policy and...more

Pullman & Comley - Labor, Employment and...

The Doctrine of “Wrongful Discharge in Violation of Public Policy” Takes Flight Again in Decision of the Connecticut Supreme Court

On Tuesday, March 21, 2023, the Connecticut Supreme Court announced a significant new decision concerning lawsuits by employees alleging “wrongful discharge in violation of public policy.”  Most employers in Connecticut are...more

Cranfill Sumner LLP

Business Court Holds that Employees’ Continued Work for Reduced Salaries Waived Claims for Breach of Employment Contracts

Cranfill Sumner LLP on

In Gallaher, et al. v. Ciszek, et al., 2022 NCBC 67, Chief Business Court Judge Louis A. Bledsoe, III, recently held that three neonatologists who continued to work after their employer unilaterally reduced their...more

Bodman

Employers Beware! Michigan Supreme Court Clarifies and Expands Public-Policy Exception to At-Will Employment Presumption

Bodman on

On July 15, 2022, the Michigan Supreme Court clarified and, arguably, expanded the public-policy exception to the well-established at-will employment presumption in Michigan. Although the case may conclude differently after...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

At-Will Employees May Sue Their Employer For Misrepresentation Of Intended Job Duties

A recent California Court of Appeal decision confirms that a California employer may be liable to an at-will employee who relocates to accept a new employment position, when the employer’s description of the kind or character...more

McAfee & Taft

Home Depot employee’s wrongful discharge claim hammered

McAfee & Taft on

Under some circumstances, Oklahoma law recognizes that terminated employees may pursue a public policy wrongful discharge claim against a former employer. These claims allow a narrow exception to the employment at-will status...more

Jaburg Wilk

What Arizona Employees Need to Know about Pursuing Wrongful Termination Claims

Jaburg Wilk on

Arizona is an at-will employment state. This means employers may terminate employees for any reason or no reason at all so long as the reason is not an illegal one. Several state and federal laws prohibit employers from...more

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Adds New Personnel Records Wrinkle to Public Policy Exception to Termination of At-Will...

A recent decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the “SJC”) significantly expanded the Massachusetts common-law public policy exception to termination of at-will employees.  This decision, Meehan v. Med. Info....more

FordHarrison

Recent South Carolina Supreme Court Decisions May Increase Legal Risks in Employee Terminations

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The South Carolina Supreme Court issued two decisions late in 2021 that may impact employers’ and co-workers’ potential liability in litigation arising from an employee’s discharge....more

Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Finds that Employees Cannot be Terminated Merely for Filing a Rebuttal to a Personnel Record

On December 17, 2021, Meehan v. Medical Information Technology, Inc., the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (“SJC”) held that an employee’s filing a rebuttal to information placed in their personnel file that could...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rules in Favor of Worker Fired for Rebutting Negative Performance Improvement Plan

On December 17, 2021, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that an employee discharged for submitting a written rebuttal to his employer in response to the placement of negative information in his personnel...more

Fisher Phillips

Unhappy New Year? South Carolina Employers Face New Lawsuit Worries After Supreme Court Decision

Fisher Phillips on

Employees in South Carolina who report workplace misconduct may soon find themselves personally named as defendants in employment lawsuits following a recent noteworthy decision from the South Carolina Supreme Court. Managers...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

Ohio Supreme Court holds that "direct observation" of drug testing is not an invasion of privacy

Bricker Graydon LLP on

In a 4-3 decision the Ohio Supreme Court recently held that the privacy of an at-will employee is not invaded when the employee is required to produce a urine sample while being monitored by a same-sex employer representative...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Close Was Not Close Enough: First Circuit Denies Executive’s Implied Covenant Claim For Unpaid Equity Compensation Related To A...

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: On November 27, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that, under Massachusetts law, a terminated employee asserting a claim for being deprived of lost compensation in breach...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Supreme Court of Kentucky Rules That Firms May Require Lawyers to Sign Non-Solicitation Agreements That Exempt Legal Work

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

A law firm can terminate an at-will lawyer who refuses to sign an agreement prohibiting them from soliciting the firm’s customers or clients following cessation of employment, according to the Supreme Court of Kentucky. In...more

Littler

No Subpoena, No Protection?: Indiana Court of Appeals Approves Dismissal of Employee Who Left Work to Voluntarily Testify at...

Littler on

It is well settled that Indiana is an employment-at-will state, meaning an employer or employee may terminate the employment relationship for any lawful reason. The Indiana Supreme Court, however, recognizes a limited number...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

N.C. Court of Appeals Says Employer Can Require Changes to At-Will Employment Contract

Formal employment contracts can be for a specific term or may be terminated by one or both parties under certain conditions. When the agreement has no set term or can be ended by either party at any time, it is considered...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Seven Questions That Employers Should Ask Themselves before Discharging an Employee

Employment terminations are serious business and fraught with potential challenges. The simple idea that at-will employees can be discharged for any legal reason without incurring claims, defense costs, and possible...more

McGuireWoods LLP

8th Circuit: Employer Bound by Promise to Pay Performance Bonus to At-Will Employees

McGuireWoods LLP on

Employers who implement bonus programs to attract and retain key employees may be bound to the terms of those programs, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently held. In Boswell v. Panera, LLC, the court affirmed that...more

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