Opinion ID: 1408172
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Wrongful Transfer

Text: White asks this court to recognize a cause of action in tort for wrongful transfer in the public employment setting. She proposes that this new tort be based on the same rationale relied on by this court in developing the tort of wrongful discharge in violation of public policy. The tort of wrongful discharge was created as an exception to the general rule that unless an employee has a contract for a definite term of employment, the employee may be discharged at any time without cause and without recourse. Thompson v. St. Regis Paper Co., 102 Wash.2d 219, 685 P.2d 1081 (1984); Roberts v. ARCO, 88 Wash.2d 887, 894, 568 P.2d 764 (1977). The general rule permitted employees to be discharged unfairly in violation of public policy in some cases. To avoid sanctioning such a discharge, we created a cause of action in tort for wrongful discharge of an employee where there is a violation of a clear mandate of public policy. Thompson, 102 Wash.2d at 233, 685 P.2d 1081. In Thompson this court created a narrow exception to the employment-at-will doctrine. We declined to adopt a broad bad faith exception to the employment-at-will rule which would have implied a covenant of good faith and fair dealing in every employment contract. Thompson, 102 Wash.2d at 227, 685 P.2d 1081. We found that the bad faith exception would be too great an intrusion into the employment relationship. Thompson, 102 Wash.2d at 228, 685 P.2d 1081. We were careful to balance the importance of allowing private employers the right to operate their businesses against the importance of prohibiting wrongful actions against employees. Thompson, 102 Wash.2d at 232, 685 P.2d 1081. We have not yet considered whether an employee should be able to recover for disciplinary actions that do not result in discharge where the employer's actions violate a clear mandate of public policy. Other jurisdictions which have considered the issue are divided with respect to whether an employee has a cause of action, based on public policy, for disciplinary actions. No jurisdiction appears to have considered extending a public policy cause of action to a lateral job transfer which does not result in a loss of pay, rank, job classification or benefits. See, e.g., Zimmerman v. Buchheit of Sparta, Inc., 164 Ill.2d 29, 206 Ill.Dec. 625, 645 N.E.2d 877 (1994) (refusing to extend the tort of wrongful discharge to include demotions); Ludwig v. C & A Wallcoverings, Inc., 960 F.2d 40 (7th Cir.1992) (employee cannot bring a wrongful discharge claim for retaliatory discharge when she was merely demoted); Mintz v. Bell Atlantic Sys. Leasing Int'l, Inc., 183 Ariz. 550, 905 P.2d 559 (1995) (a public policy tort for failure to promote does not exist and it is unnecessary for courts to create one); Foley v. Interactive Data Corp., 47 Cal.3d 654, 254 Cal.Rptr. 211, 765 P.2d 373 (1988) (expansion of tort remedies in employment actions has potential for enormous consequence in the stability of the business community); Scott v. Pacific Gas & Elec. Co., 11 Cal.4th 454, 46 Cal.Rptr.2d 427, 904 P.2d 834 (1995) (court upheld employee's wrongful discharge claim because of an implied contractual agreement with employer not to demote without good cause); Garcia v. Rockwell Int'l Corp., 187 Cal.App.3d 1556, 232 Cal.Rptr. 490 (1986) (employee successfully brought wrongful discharge action when employer suspended him without pay as a retaliatory measure). Generally, other jurisdictions share the same concern as the Court of Appeals in this case, that recognizing a cause of action for wrongful disciplinary action less than discharge has the potential to expand and to generate frivolous claims. Ludwig, 960 F.2d at 43; Mintz, 905 P.2d at 562; White, 78 Wash.App. at 839, 898 P.2d 331. In White, the Court of Appeals reasoned that by recognizing a cause of action for employer actions short of an actual discharge, the court would be opening a floodgate to frivolous litigation and substantially interfering with an employer's discretion to make personnel decisions. White, 78 Wash.App. at 839-40, 898 P.2d 331. The Court of Appeals noted that the courts are ill-equipped to act as super personnel agencies. White, 78 Wash.App. at 840, 898 P.2d 331 (citing Washington Fed `n of State Employees v. State Personnel Bd., 29 Wash. App. 818, 820, 630 P.2d 951 (1981)). We agree with the reasoning and the decision of the Court of Appeals. Subjecting each disciplinary decision of an employer to the scrutiny of the judiciary would not strike the proper balance between the employer's right to run his business as he sees fit and the employee's right to job security. See Thompson, 102 Wash.2d at 227, 685 P.2d 1081. This is particularly true in instances like this one where an employee's rights are already protected by civil service rule, by a collective bargaining agreement, and by civil rights statutes. Because we hold that the civil rights claim was properly dismissed, we do not reach the State's issue on qualified immunity.