Opinion ID: 2464470
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Policy And Procedure Manual

Text: All employees at APT were subject to APT's Policy and Procedure Manual. The manual specified that all APT employees were employed at will, and that the company may end the employment relationship at any time, with or without cause, with or without advance notice. It also provided that [e]mployees terminated for misconduct may be discharged immediately, without advanced notice. The manual described a progressive disciplinary action plan that included verbal counseling, a first written warning, a second written warning, and discharge. Before describing the steps for progressive discipline, the manual specified that APT reserves the right to determine in its sole and unlimited discretion when and if progressive discipline will be used and always reserves the right to discharge employees without cause and/or previous notice. After describing the progressive discipline steps, the manual provided that [w]hether and to what degree progressive discipline will be used is always subject to the unlimited discretion of [APT] management. For example, there may be extraordinary circumstances (malicious destruction of property, theft, dishonesty, etc.) that would warrant immediate discharge without prior suspension or prior verbal or written warning.