Opinion ID: 1344731
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Refusal to Participate in Illegal Conduct

Text: Allum submits that jury instruction no. 26 (defining the refusal to participate in illegal conduct claim) contained one additional error. Allum argues that he was not obligated to prove he was given an express choice between participating in illegal conduct or losing his job, or that he was told he must participate. Because this court has not addressed whether an employee's termination for refusal to participate in his employer's illegal activities violates Nevada public policy, we will confront that issue now. [5] In Western States Minerals Corp. v. Jones, 107 Nev. 704, 719, 819 P.2d 206, 216 (1991), this court held that a claim for tortious discharge should be available to an employee who was terminated for refusing to engage in unsafe conduct at his employer's request. A claim for tortious discharge should also be available to an employee who was terminated for refusing to engage in conduct that he, in good faith, believed to be illegal. [6] Any other conclusion would encourage unlawful conduct by employers and force employees to either consent and participate in violation of the law or risk termination. Vermillion v. AAA Pro Moving & Storage, 146 Ariz. 215, 704 P.2d 1360, 1362 (Ariz.1985). Allum claims that this court should recognize the tortious discharge cause of action even if Valley did not expressly inform him that he would be fired if he refused to participate. In its order denying Allum's motion for a new trial, the district court noted that the precise language used in jury instruction no. 26 was technically too narrow. [7] The court noted that the problem with Valley's position was that an employee asked to perform illegal activities is not privy to the intentions of his or her employer. Employees generally recognize that the refusal to act as requested by an employer risks termination for insubordination. The employer need not explicitly present the employee with the ... choice of acting illegally or being terminated; the employee knows the likely consequences of refusing to perform as requested. Several jurisdictions recognize a cause of action for wrongful discharge where the plaintiff claims he was terminated in retaliation for conduct either required or prohibited by law. These courts do not require the plaintiff to allege that he was given a choice between his job and participating in the illegal conduct. See Dugan v. Bell Telephone, 876 F.Supp. 713 (W.D.Pa.1994); Perry v. Hartz Mountain Corp., 537 F.Supp. 1387, 1389 (S.D.Ind.1982); Shearin v. E.F. Hutton Group, Inc., 652 A.2d 578, 585-89 (Del.1994); Remington Freight Lines, Inc. v. Larkey, 644 N.E.2d 931, 937 (Ind.Ct.App.1994); Winkelman v. Beloit Memorial Hospital, 168 Wis.2d 12, 483 N.W.2d 211 (Wis.1992); Sheets v. Teddy's Frosted Foods, Inc., 179 Conn. 471, 427 A.2d 385 (Conn.1980). We agree that the district court erroneously required Allum to show that he was given a choice to either participate in the conduct or face termination. However, we conclude that the error was not harmless and the district court should have granted a new trial in light of the error. A claim for tortious discharge should be available to an employee who was terminated for refusing to engage in conduct that he, in good faith, reasonably believed to be illegal. Accordingly, we reverse the district court's order and remand for a new trial with a proper instruction.