Court Opinion

ID: 9628848
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 09:33:10.656413+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:07:12.361946
License: Public Domain

Shearing, J.,
concurring:
I agree that the district court’s order granting summary judgment should be affirmed. I address the dissent position that offering a drug rehabilitation program can change an at-will employment to contractual employment. Neither the language of the employee handbook nor the drug and alcohol policy, separately or together, make such a change. The employee’s status is expressly “at-will.” Furthermore, the public policy considerations are particularly compelling for not penalizing companies which do institute drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs. The law of this state should encourage such action. It is in the public interest, as well as in Reno Air’s interest, that employees who have substance abuse problems be helped to overcome those problems. However, it is also in the public interest that Reno Air be free to terminate its employees in critical positions and not be required to maintain them in their positions even when there is only a suspicion that they cannot perform their duties safely and effectively. Reno Air is free to enter into employment contracts, but we should not lightly hold that they have inadvertently done so.