Opinion ID: 1377881
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Wrongful Firing Issue

Text: One of the Bines' principal assertions in the present appeal is that Bayer, Inc., issued an employee handbook which detailed procedures to be followed when employee discipline or discharge was contemplated. They claim that Bayer, Inc., improperly and wrongfully failed to follow the procedures specified in the handbook in terminating Mr. Bine's employment. Bayer, Inc., on the other hand, claims that Holly O. Bine was an at-will employee and that since this was the situation, he could legally be fired without being afforded the benefit of the handbook procedure. In Cook v. Heck's, Inc., 176 W.Va. 368, 342 S.E.2d 453 (1986), this Court stated that in the realm of the employer-employee relationship, West Virginia is an at-will jurisdiction, that is, that, in the absence of some contractual or legal provision to the contrary, an employment relationship may be terminated, with or without cause, at the will of either the employer or the employee. The Cook case, however, proceeded to hold that a provision in an employee handbook may alter the at-will nature of an employment relationship if there is a definite promise in the handbook by the employer not to discharge the covered employee except for specified reasons. The Court specifically stated: The inclusion in the handbook of specified discipline for violations of particular rules accompanied by the statement that the disciplinary rules constitute a complete list is prima facie evidence of an offer for a unilateral contract of employment modifying the right of the employer to discharge without cause. 176 W.Va. at 374, 342 S.E.2d at 459. In the later case of Suter v. Harsco Corporation, 184 W.Va. 734, 403 S.E.2d 751 (1991), the Court reiterated the principle that a handbook provision may alter an at-will relationship, but stated further that: An employer may protect itself from being bound by any and all statements in an employee handbook by placing a clear and prominent disclaimer to that effect in the handbook itself. Syllabus Point 5, Suter v. Harsco Corporation, id . Although the Bines in the present case claim that the handbook issued to Mr. Bine altered the at-will nature of Mr. Bine's employment, and implicitly established that Mr. Bine's employment could only be terminated by the procedures established in the handbook, the record shows that the handbook issued to Mr. Bine contained a prominent disclaimer indicating that nothing in the handbook was intended to alter Mr. Bine's at-will employment relationship. Specifically, the handbook stated: The manual is not intended to alter the employment-at-will relationship in any way. Moreover, it neither creates an employment contract or term nor limits the reasons or procedures for termination or modification of the employment relationship. In light of the fact that Suter v. Harsco Corporation, id ., holds that a disclaimer such as the one used by Bayer, Inc., relieves the employer from being bound by the statements in the handbook, this Court concludes that Bayer, Inc., was not bound by disciplinary procedures contained in its handbook when it discharged Mr. Bine and that the Bines' claim that Mr. Bine was improperly discharged because Bayer, Inc., did not follow the procedures in the handbook is without merit. [2] B.