During the 12 years Charles Starzynski was a program director for Capital Public Radio Inc. in Sacramento, his supervisor, Paul Corriveau, orally assured him his employment could only be terminated for good cause. Then Starzynski was asked to sign an at-will contract. It stated that his employment was at will and could be terminated at any time, with or without cause, and that only the board of directors could change his at-will status. Three days after Starzynski signed the agreement, Corriveau again reassured him that he wouldn’t be terminated if his performance remained satisfactory.
Employee Quits, Sues For Wrongful Discharge
Starzynski resigned for unrelated reasons several years later, citing intolerable working conditions. He sued Capital for wrongful termination, claiming he had been constructively discharged—or forced to quit—in violation of an implied agreement that he wouldn’t be terminated except for cause.
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Capital asked the court to throw out the lawsuit, arguing that Starzynski’s employment was at will and there was no implied agreement to the contrary. The trial court agreed and dismissed the case.
Supervisor’s Assurances Didn’t Prevail Over At-Will Provision
A California Court of Appeal upheld the ruling, finding that Starzynski was an at-will employee. The written at-will agreement that Starzynski signed clearly and unambiguously told him that his employment was at will and that only the board of directors could alter the agreement. And there was no evidence that supervisor Corriveau’s assurances of continued employment represented a board action. Thus, the court ruled, Corriveau’s representations didn’t create an unwritten obligation that took precedence over the written at-will agreement.
Review Your Policies
To help avoid costly wrongful discharge lawsuits, it’s important to reiterate at every opportunity that employment is at will. Spell out the policy in employee handbooks and be sure to have employees sign an acknowledgment of at-will status in application forms, written job offers, employment agreements or a stand-alone document. Specify that the person’s at-will status can’t be modified except in a written agreement signed by a company officer. And to avoid the problem of having other personnel policies—such as progressive discipline or layoff procedures—conflict with an employee’s at-will status, spell out that the at-will provisions will prevail in the event of an inconsistency. It’s also prudent to caution supervisors not to promise continued employment.