Opinion ID: 2450542
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Heading: Exceptions to the employment-at-will doctrine

Text: Kansas historically adheres to the employment-at-will doctrine, which holds that employees and employers may terminate an employment relationship at any time, for any reason, unless there is an express or implied contract governing the employment's duration. Morriss v. Coleman Co., 241 Kan. 501, 510, 738 P.2d 841 (1987). But there are specific statutory exceptions to this rule, such as terminations based on race, gender, or disability. See K.S.A. 44-1009 (It is unlawful for an employer to terminate or otherwise discriminate against a person because of race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin, or ancestry or to commit other discriminatory employment practices listed in the statute.). There are also exceptions recognized by Kansas courts through our case law. Over the past 30 years, exceptions to the at-will doctrine created a common-law tort for retaliatory discharge. These exceptions gradually eroded the general terminable-at-will rule when an employee is fired in contravention of a recognized state public policy. Ortega v. IBP, Inc., 255 Kan. 513, 518, 874 P.2d 1188 (1994) ([I]t is clear that this state has recognized exceptions to the doctrine of employment-at-will when an employee is discharged in contravention of public policy.); Anco Constr. Co. v. Freeman, 236 Kan. 626, Syl. ¶ 5, 693 P.2d 1183 (1985) (When an employee is terminated in violation of federal public policy, however, no state cause of action is pled.). To date, this court has endorsed public policy exceptions in four circumstances: (1) filing a claim under the Kansas Workers Compensation Act, K.S.A. 44-501 et seq; (2) whistleblowing; (3) filing a claim under the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. § 51 (2006) et seq.; and (4) exercising a public employee's First Amendment right to free speech on an issue of public concern. Anco Constr. Co., 236 Kan. at 629, 693 P.2d 1183 (workers compensation); Palmer v. Brown, 242 Kan. 893, 900, 752 P.2d 685 (1988) (whistleblowing based on good-faith reporting of coworkers or employers infraction pertaining to public health and safety); Hysten v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Ry. Co., 277 Kan. 551, 561, 108 P.3d 437 (2004) (FELA); Larson v. Ruskowitz, 252 Kan. 963, 974-75, 850 P.2d 253 (1993) (retaliatory discharge claim when a public employee is terminated for exercising First Amendment rights to free speech on an issue of public concern); see also Flenker v. Willamette Industries, Inc., 266 Kan. 198, 204, 967 P.2d 295 (1998) (whistleblowing based on good-faith reporting of federal Occupational Safety and Health Act violations); Coleman v. Safeway Stores, Inc., 242 Kan. 804, 815, 752 P.2d 645 (1988) (employer prohibited from terminating employee because of absence caused by work-related injury and potential workers compensation claim), overruled on other grounds by Gonzalez-Centeno v. North Central Kansas Regional Juvenile Detention Facility, 278 Kan. 427, 101 P.3d 1170 (2004); Cox v. United Technologies, 240 Kan. 95, Syl., 727 P.2d 456 (1986) (recognizing tort of retaliatory discharge for filing a workers compensation claim but declining to apply it under specific facts of case), overruled on other grounds by Coleman, 242 Kan. at 813-15, 752 P.2d 645. Murphy v. City of Topeka, 6 Kan.App.2d 488, 630 P.2d 186 (1981), was the first Kansas case recognizing a cause of action for retaliatory discharge. There, plaintiff alleged he was terminated for claiming workers compensation benefits against his employer. The Workers Compensation Act did not contain an express provision making it unlawful to terminate an employee for filing a claim. In fact, the Murphy court noted the legislature had considered amending the law to explicitly permit a retaliation claim on two occasions, but neither amendment passed. 6 Kan.App.2d at 496, 630 P.2d 186. Nevertheless, the Court of Appeals held a strong public policy could be implied from the statutory scheme and that policy needed protection against job-related retaliation. It noted the Workers Compensation Act provided efficient remedies and protections for employees, was designed to promote the welfare of people in the state, and was the exclusive remedy available for injured workers. As such, [t]o allow an employer to coerce employees in the free exercise of their rights under the act would substantially subvert the purposes of the act. 6 Kan.App.2d at 496, 630 P.2d 186. Four years later, the Court of Appeals' analysis was affirmed by this court in Anco Constr. Co., 236 Kan. at 629, 693 P.2d 1183, and then reaffirmed in subsequent cases. See Rebarchek v. Farmers Co-op. Elevator & Mercantile Ass'n, 272 Kan. 546, 560-62, 35 P.3d 892 (2001); Brown v. United Methodist Homes for the Aged, 249 Kan. 124, 132, 815 P.2d 72 (1991); Coleman, 242 Kan. at 810, 752 P.2d 645; Cox, 240 Kan. at 96, 727 P.2d 456. Almost 2 decades after Anco Constr. Co., this court applied the same analysis recited in Murphy to recognize that a retaliatory discharge claim under FELA was necessary to protect an employee's exercise of statutory FELA rights. Hysten, 277 Kan. at 561, 108 P.3d 437. In Hysten, a railroad employee filed a retaliatory discharge claim alleging the railroad retaliated against him for filing a tardy claim for work-related injuries. The railroad argued this was not a valid state law retaliatory discharge claim, but was instead dependent upon a federal policy. Disagreeing, this court held: Regardless of whether FELA or the Kansas Workers Compensation Act supplies the framework to support an injured worker's pursuit of recovery, the public policy underlying that framework would be undermined if the worker could be fired for the exercise of his or her statutory right. Such a situation effectively releases an employer from the obligation of the statute. [Citation omitted.] (Emphasis added.) 277 Kan. at 556-57, 108 P.3d 437. The case law makes it obvious that Kansas courts permit the common-law tort of retaliatory discharge as a limited exception to the at-will employment doctrine when it is necessary to protect a strongly held state public policy from being undermined. As such, the first question in analyzing Campbell's claim becomes whether such a state public policy is found within the KWPA.