Workplace Law Scenario Analysis

PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES AND TERMINATION

The public policy exception to the employment-at-will doctrine provides that employees may not be terminated for reasons that are contrary to public policy. Public policy originates with legislative enactments that prohibit, for example, the discharge of employees on the basis of disability, age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, pregnancy, union membership, and/or filing of safety violation complaints with various agencies (e.g., the Occupational Safety and Health Administration). Any attempt to limit, segregate, or classify employees in any way that would tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities on these bases is contrary to public policy. Brandi Cochran, who had been a presenter on “The Price Is Right,” said she was fearful of losing her job if she got pregnant. She was right: she lost her job. She sued the game show, claiming wrongful termination based on her pregnancy. The jury awarded her more than $7.7 million in punitive dam-ages. Discrimination based on her pregnancy was both illegal and unfair. If a woman is temporarily unable to perform her job due to a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, the employer or other covered entity must treat her in the same way as it treats any other temporarily disabled employee. For example, the employer may have to provide light duty, alternative assignments, disability leave, or unpaid leave to pregnant employees if it does so for other temporarily disabled employees.5Public policy also can arise as a result of judicial decisions that address those issues not covered by statutes, rules, and regulations. “[I]t can be said that public policy concerns what is right and just and what affects the citizens of the state collectively. It is to be found in the state’s constitution and statutes and, when they are silent, in its judicial decisions.”6Public policy favors the exposure of crime, and the cooperation of citizens possessing knowledge thereof is essential to effective implementation of that policy. Those persons acting in good faith, who have probable cause to believe crimes have been committed, should not be deterred from reporting them for fear of unfounded suits by those accused.7In those instances in which state and federal laws are silent, not all courts concur with the use of judicial decisions as a means for determining public policy. A California court determined that a public policy exception to the employment-at-will doctrine must be based on constitutional or statutory provisions rather than judicial policy making.