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17 W. St. U. L. Rev. 131 (1989-1990)
At Will Employment Agreements: New Focus for Shielding Employers from Wrongful Termination Suits

handle is hein.journals/wsulr17 and id is 137 raw text is: At Will Employment Agreements: New Focus for Shielding Employers From Wrongful Termination Suits? The state supreme court's decision of Foley v. Interactive Data Corp.' altered significantly wrongful termination law in California.' By eliminating tort damages for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing,3 the court shifted an employee's primary remedy for unfair dismissal from tort to contract law.' Consequently, employers in California may find the use of at will employment agreements to be a means of effectively insulating themselves from wrongful termination suits.' These agreements are used to reaffirm the so-called American rule6 that an employee hired for an indefinite term is employed on an at will basis and may be terminated for good cause or no cause.7 Employers may now use at will agreements to deter and successfully negate claims that an employee has a contractual right to be terminated only for good cause or in good faith. This Comment will explore the possible judicial response in Califor- nia to wrongful termination suits brought by employees who are bound 1. 47 Cal. 3d 654, 765 P.2d 373, 254 Cal. Rptr. 211 (1988). 2. Burden, Wrongful Discharge, 75 A.B.A. J. 20, 22 (1989); Hager, State High Court Takes Anticipated Turn to the Right, L.A. Times, Jan. 1, 1989, § 1, at 3, col. 5; Carrizosa & Angel, 4-3 High Court Bars Tort Claims in Wrongful Firing, L.A. Daily Journal, Dec. 30, 1988, at 1, col. 6. 3. Foley, 47 Cal. 3d at 693, 765 P.2d at 396, 254 Cal. Rptr. at 234. 4. Id. at 696, 765 P.2d at 398, 254 Cal. Rptr. at 236. 5. Pre-Foley commentary: Carrizosa, Labor Attorneys Wait Eagerly for News on 'Foley', L.A. Daily Journal, Sept. 26, 1988, at I and 11, col. 6; Bernstein, Fire-at-Will Clauses Put Force of Law Behind Unfair Play, L.A. Times, Aug. 16, 1988, § 4, at 1, col. 1; Bradsher, Firms Ask that Workers Waive Job Security, L.A. Times, July 31, 1988, § 1, at 1, col. 2. Post-Foley commentary: Carroll, Good Cause Termination: A Post-'Foley' Counseling Strategy, L.A. LAW., March, 1989, at 18, 22; L.A. Daily Journal, Feb. 20, 1989, at 2, col. 1; Carrizosa & Dresslar, Justices Extend 'Foley'Decision Retroactively, L.A. Daily Journal, May 26, 1989, at 1, 22; Jordan, Capitol Reacts to 'Foley' with Flurry of Bills, L.A. Daily Journal, Jan. 30, 1989, at 1, col. 6 (A state senator introduced a bill outlawing at will'agreements. This bill is now pending on the Senate floor.). 6. The at will employment doctrine is ascribed to H.G. Wood and his 1877 work, Law of Master and Servant. See Wagenseller v. Scottsdale Memorial Hosp. 147 Ariz. 370, 375, 710 P.2d 1025, 1030 (1985); Toussaint v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mich. 408 Mich. 579, 584-89, 292 N.W.2d 880, 885-90 (1980); Summers, The Role of the Unions in the 1980's, The Rights of Individual Workers, 52 FORDHAM L. REV., 1082, 1083-84 (1984). 7. See CAL. LAB CODE § 2922 (Deering 1976).

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