News & Analysis as of

At-Will Employment Public Policy Employment Litigation

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

No wrongful discharge claim based on exercise of rights under state Constitution, Tennessee high court says

The Tennessee Supreme Court has recently held that there is no legal claim for wrongful discharge where an employer terminates an employee because the employee exercised a right set forth in the state Constitution. The...more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

Tennessee Supreme Court Holds that Petitioning the State Government is Not Conduct Protected by the Common Law Tort of Retaliatory...

A recent Tennessee Supreme Court decision has addressed a matter of first impression after years of contentious debate regarding employer COVID-19 vaccination policies for employees. Heather Smith (Smith) filed a lawsuit...more

Dickinson Wright

The Michigan Supreme Court Expands Public Policy Causes of Action for Retaliatory Discharge

Dickinson Wright on

Under Michigan’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (“MiOSHA”), employers may not “discharge an employee or in any manner discriminate against an employee because the employee filed a complaint” regarding the employer’s...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

Clark Hill PLC

Colorado Court of Appeals Adopts Definition of “Actual Discharge” Applied by Federal Courts in Colorado Employment Law Wrongful...

Clark Hill PLC on

In a case of first impression in Colorado, the Colorado Court of Appeals adopts a test for evaluating a claim of actual discharge under Colorado law. In this Colorado employment law case, Plaintiff ex-employee, Ms. Potts,...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

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

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

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

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

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

Massachusetts Appeals Court Reinforces Narrow Interpretation of Public Policy Exception to At-Will Employment

On January 20, 2021, an expanded five-judge panel of the Massachusetts Appeals Court issued its opinion in Terence Meehan v. Medical Information Technology, Inc., No. 19-P-1412, and affirmed a lower court decision granting...more

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

Indiana Supreme Court Favors Employee Over Interpretation of “Public Policy” Exception to At-Will Employment.

In Perkins v. Memorial Hospital of South Bend (Case No. 20S-CT-233), a split Indiana Supreme Court ruled in favor of an employee who was discharged after testifying against Memorial Hospital of South Bend at a coworker’s...more

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