Opinion ID: 2374344
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: approvals

Text: A. The application of any of these provisions for early retirement, supplemental benefits, or severance pay must be submitted to the Employee Relations Department for Management approval. SEVERANCE ALLOWANCE Completed Years of Service Severance Allowance 1 Year 1 Week 2 Years 2 Weeks 3  3  4  4  5  5  ---------------------------------------------------------- 6  6  7  7  8  8  9  9  10  10  ---------------------------------------------------------- 11  11½  12  13  13  14½  14  16  15  17½  ---------------------------------------------------------- 16  19  17  20½  18  22  19  23½  20  25  ---------------------------------------------------------- 21  26½  22  28  23  29½  24  31  25  32½  ---------------------------------------------------------- 26  34  27  35½  28  37  29  38½  30  40  ---------------------------------------------------------- 31  41½  32  43  33  44½  34  46  35  47½  ---------------------------------------------------------- 36  49  37  50½  38  52  From the evidence considered in the light most favorable to the prevailing parties the jury could have found these facts: The primary purpose of a severance pay allowance was to help an employee during a period of time after he left Cities Service and before he found other suitable employment. The intent of the Employee Relations Department Manager in approving ER-1 Revised was to set forth the standards for all employees qualifying under its provisions for severance pay, subject to management approval. Although ER-1 Revised was not intended to be distributed generally to all employees and was not so distributed, it was not marked secret or confidential and department heads were not advised that it was secret and confidential. The Kansas City regional manager and his office manager each had a copy. The office manager's copy was kept in a policy book, or binder, in his office, where it was available with other company policy memoranda and data for reference and inspection by interested department heads. ER-1 Revised was the subject of at least one weekly department head meeting in the Kansas City division. While ER-1 Revised was not to be displayed to employees its contents were to be given out through the department heads by oral dissemination of the information to the employees. Staff employees were requested to pass the information on to the rank and file of employees. This was one of the customary methods used by Cities Service in disseminating information to employees of the division. In March 1963 Cities Service had printed and kept on hand a sufficient supply of cards captioned Employment Termination Card, on which was provided a blank space for the number of weeks of severance pay due each employee. Each of the seven plaintiffs knew about the severance pay plan. Four of them read it in the policy book. Plaintiff Kephart received knowledge of the plan from one of his superiors in 1962. Plaintiff Jones had heard of it through different employees. Plaintiff Hinkeldey first learned of the plan in January, 1964, when the Des Moines Regional Office was closed and the accounting facilities moved from St. Paul to Philadelphia, terminating jobs and giving rise to the payment of severance pay under the plan. At no time did the Employee Relations Office in Tulsa ever send anything to the Kansas City office revoking or cancelling authority under ER-1 Revised. There was evidence that before the controversy in litigation there were no instances in which Cities Service employees who were qualified to receive pay under ER-1 Revised were rejected or refused severance pay by management. Plaintiffs and other employees in the Kansas City division were notified to attend a meeting at the Hotel President on April 18, 1966 at which time announcement was made of a proposed sale of Cities Service's market operations and properties in various places, including the Kansas City area, to Gulf Oil Corporation. The employees were not told when the sale and transfer would actually take place nor was severance pay or any change in the severance pay plan mentioned. Plaintiffs and other employees, apprehensive about their future employment situation as a result of this meeting, confirmed the existence of the severance pay plan. During the period April 18-July 19 the office manager in Kansas City received inquiries probably from every employee in the division about what was contained in ER-1 Revised. He gave the information to each employee who asked for it. Plaintiffs, relying upon the severance pay plan, knowing that if they resigned they would lose their severance pay and thinking that if they remained on the job they would upon termination of their employment receive severance pay which would assist them financially during the period of unemployment between jobs, decided to remain on the job and not quit to look for other employment. It influenced them to remain with Cities Service during the period of uncertainty about the future. Around July 12, 1966 management reached a decision that there would be a severance pay program in connection with the sale to Gulf. Gulf supplied Cities Service with the names of those who would be offered jobs and those who were not to be offered jobs in the change-over. About the middle of July the Employee Relations Department prepared a document in connection with the change-over, (Exhibit A), under the terms of which employees terminated and not transferring to Gulf would be eligible for severance pay, but employees not accepting employment offers by Gulf would not get severance pay. This plan was approved by management. After the April 18 meeting the employees heard nothing more about the sale, date of transfer of property or any change in the severance pay plan until a second called meeting was held on July 19, 1966. At the meeting of July 19 it was announced that the change-over to Gulf would take place on July 31, 1966. Names were read of employees receiving early retirement benefits and those whose employment was being terminated. It was announced that those being terminated and not being offered employment by Gulf would receive severance pay but those whose employments were being terminated but who were offered employment by Gulf would not receive severance pay. Prior to July 19, 1966 plaintiff Hinkeldey, and inferentially the other plaintiffs, had not been advised that the severance plan was going to be changed. Plaintiffs had employment tenures with Cities Service ranging from 5 years, 4 months to 25 years, 3 months. The jobs of each of the seven plaintiffs were terminated by Cities Service in the change-over to Gulf. Each plaintiff was offered employment with Gulf but many of the jobs required that they move to other cities or go into new lines of work with Gulf. While the salary would initially be the same salaries would be subject to review and revision, up or down, after six months. Each of the seven plaintiffs found these conditions unacceptable, refused employment with Gulf, and was denied severance pay under the change-over plan announced by Cities Service. Each of plaintiffs' employment termination cards was completed, showing -0- weeks' severance pay due because Refused Gulf Offer to Transfer. Other Cities Service employees whose jobs were terminated and who were not offered jobs with Gulf were given severance pay, while those offered jobs were not. Cities Service raises two points on this appeal: I. That there was no contract; that the provision upon which plaintiffs rely required something further to be done which was not done, and that no offer was made and no offer was communicated to plaintiffs. II. That plaintiffs' verdict-directing Instruction No. 2 was not supported by the evidence.