Opinion ID: 382733
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Property Interests

Text: 16 It is well established that in order to establish procedural due process rights in a dismissal from employment, the claimant must establish a property interest in the position. Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 577, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 2709, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972); Perry v. Sindermann, 408 U.S. 593, 596-603, 92 S.Ct. 2694, 2696-2700, 33 L.Ed.2d 570 (1972); Brouillette v. Board of Directors, 519 F.2d 126, 127-28 (8th Cir. 1975). Appellant Kyles was not tenured, nor did he prove at trial that any representations of tenure had been made to him. As the Supreme Court held in Roth, supra, 408 U.S. at 566, 577, 92 S.Ct. at 2709, in order to determine the meaning of an employment contract the court looks to state law. Kyles worked under no express contract term. Under Nebraska law, such a contract is terminable at will. Stewart v. North Side Produce Co., 197 Neb. 245, 248 N.W.2d 37, 38 (1976). Thus, in order for Kyles to recover, he must establish a property interest in some other manner or otherwise establish a claim to a hearing. 17 Kyles argues that the agency's Personnel Policy and Procedures Manual applied to him. This manual requires a suspension and probation period before an employee can be terminated from employment, unless the employee has committed certain violations. 18 Kyles asserts that the manual applies to all persons working for the agency, management and standard employee alike. The manual is not explicit on this point. The testimony of other supervisors in the agency consistently asserted that the manual did not apply to those in management because it used the term employee. In light of Kyles' supervisory capacity of overseeing as many as ninety employees, Kyles was indeed a part of management. We therefore conclude that it was an accepted fact within ENHSA that the manual did not apply to him. The district court properly found that Kyles was a member of the management team and served at the will and pleasure of the Governing Board. 19 Kyles also argues that the custom and practice of the agency created a de facto tenure system and entitled him to the procedures provided in the manual. This attempt to establish a property interest in employment fails because the appellant has not established that there were understandings promulgated and fostered by    officials regarding tenure. Board of Regents v. Roth, supra, 408 U.S. at 577, 92 S.Ct. at 2700. Perry v. Sindermann, supra, 408 U.S. at 600-03, 92 S.Ct. at 2699-2700. Furthermore, appellant has failed to establish that tenure or the manual had otherwise become an implied part of his employment contract. We therefore hold that the lower court did not err in finding that Kyles had no property interest in continued employment within the scope and protection of the Fourteenth Amendment.