Opinion ID: 2215884
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 16

Heading: Statements Made During Interviews

Text: Walpus claimed that at his first interview with METCO, Jenkins told him that the only reasons he could be terminated were if he stole from the company or did not do his job. Walpus alleged that Jenkins repeated the same limited reasons for termination during Walpus' third interview with METCO. Jenkins denied ever discussing the reasons for which district managers could be discharged during Walpus' initial interviews with METCO, and he testified that he never told Walpus that he could only be discharged for cause. However, Jenkins testified that he probably discussed the security of Walpus' position if Walpus did his job well. Additionally, Jenkins testified that he personally believed that he needed cause to terminate Walpus. In reviewing a summary judgment, an appellate court views the evidence in a light most favorable to the party against whom the judgment is granted and gives such party the benefit of all reasonable inferences deducible from the evidence. Jim's, Inc. v. Willman, 247 Neb. 430, 527 N.W.2d 626 (1995); Gravel v. Schmidt, 247 Neb. 404, 527 N.W.2d 199 (1995); Huntwork v. Voss, 247 Neb. 184, 525 N.W.2d 632 (1995). This court has held that oral representations may, standing alone, constitute a promise sufficient to create contractual terms which could modify the at-will status of an employee. Hamersky v. Nicholson Supply Co., 246 Neb. 156, 517 N.W.2d 382 (1994); Hillie v. Mutual of Omaha Ins. Co., 245 Neb. 219, 512 N.W.2d 358 (1994). However, when we view the record in a light most favorable to Walpus, his factual allegations regarding the alleged oral representations made by Jenkins cannot support his claim for an employment contract. Walpus alleged that pursuant to the oral representations made by Jenkins during the hiring process, Walpus could not be terminated unless he stole from the company or did not do his job. However, Walpus admits to receiving the sales manual containing the termination of employment language during his first day of work at METCO. It is uncontradicted that Walpus continued to work for METCO after receiving the sales manual. The nonexclusive list of reasons for termination provided in the sales manual is far more expansive than the two reasons for termination cited by Walpus in his oral contract claim. In Rowe v. Montgomery Ward, 437 Mich. 627, 632, 473 N.W.2d 268, 269 (1991), the Michigan Supreme Court stated: [U]nless the [plaintiff's] theory has some relation to the reality, calling something a contract that is in no sense a contract cannot advance respect for the law.... [W]e seek a resolution which is consistent with contract law relative to the employment setting while minimizing the possibility of abuse by either party to the employment relationship. The court in Rowe faced a situation similar to the case at bar wherein the employee alleged the existence of an oral contract which limited the employer's ability to terminate the employee without cause. The Rowe court noted that the employee had signed a Rules of Personal Conduct sheet which did not contain any just cause language. Instead, the sheet contained a list of misconduct such as theft, destruction of property, and moral impropriety which would result in immediate dismissal. The court held that the employee's agreement to abide by those rules suggested that any subjective belief the employee maintained that she could only be terminated for cause pursuant to the alleged oral contract was not reasonable. Walpus faces a similar circumstance. He claims that Jenkins told him that he could only be terminated for two reasons: stealing or not doing his job. On his first day of work, Walpus received a sales manual which set forth six examples of misconduct which were grounds for immediate termination. That language in the sales manual undercut any reasonable objective belief that a contract arose from the alleged oral representations attributed to Jenkins. Thus, even assuming that Jenkins made the alleged statements during his interviews with Walpus, those statements were insufficient to support his oral contract claim in light of the entire record. See, Mooneyham v. Smith Kline & French Labs., 55 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 1777, 1990 WL 169121 (W.D.Mich.1990); Rowe v. Montgomery Ward, supra .