Crafting a new means of analysis for wrongful discharge claims based on promises in employee handbooks

Over the past 20 years, the concept of employment at will has been eroded through exceptions permitting employees to sue employers for wrongful discharge under various theories. One such theory, implied-in-fact contract, grants employees the ability to sue based on promises made in employee handbook...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Washington law review 1996-10, Vol.71 (4), p.1157
Main Author: Rosenthal, Gabriel S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Company publications
Contract law
Court decisions
Employees
Employment at will
Employment contracts
Handbooks
Wrongful discharge
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Summary:Over the past 20 years, the concept of employment at will has been eroded through exceptions permitting employees to sue employers for wrongful discharge under various theories. One such theory, implied-in-fact contract, grants employees the ability to sue based on promises made in employee handbooks. Although 47 states allow such claims, their legal analyses have been murky and varied. The reasons for this ambiguity are twofold. First, courts still feel compelled by the looming presence of employment at will to base exceptions on traditional theories of contract law. Second, the role of disclaimers has not been precisely defined. Implied-in-fact contract analysis is clarified, and a solution to the above problems is offered. The test that the courts actually use in employee handbook claims - the reasonable expectations of the employee - is stated, and the main factors to be examined in such a test are presented. The reasonable expectations test should be adopted free from the confines of traditional theories of law.
ISSN:0043-0617