Personnel Manual Doesn�t Change Worker�s At-Will Status

A Court has ruled that a worker�s at-will employment status is not changed by a personnel manual provision stating that employees �may be dismissed for cause.� The Plaintiff had worked for almost 10 years as a collections supervisor at a hospital when she was placed on probation and then terminated. The hospital cited her poor attitude, breaches of patient confidentiality and unprofessional conduct as reasons for its decision. All of these alleged shortcomings the Plaintiff disputed. Eventually, she sued, claiming breach of her employment contract. She argued that a statement in the hospital�s personnel policy manual that employees may be dismissed for cause constituted an agreement that dismissal would only be for cause, thus resulting in her not being an at-will employee. The Court ruled that the personnel manual plainly provides that dismissal may be for cause, but it nowhere suggests that dismissal may be only for cause, and that limitation cannot simply be inferred. A statement that an employee may be dismissed for cause is not a specific agreement that an employee may be dismissed only for cause. Because the Plaintiff was an at-will employee, she could be fired for good cause, bad cause, or no cause at all.