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Keywords

settlementwillwrongful termination
appealtrialwillwrongful terminationcorporationrespondent

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De Petris v. Union Settlement Ass’n, Inc., 86 N.Y.2d 406, 657 N.E.2d 269, 633 N.Y.S.2d 274, 11 IER Cases 119

Facts

Dr. Pasquale De Petris was employed as a staff psychologist and later as the administrative director at the James Weldon Johnson Counseling Center. Tensions arose regarding the Center's finances, leading to concerns from the executive directors about De Petris's management. After failing to address these financial issues, he was terminated on April 20, 1992. De Petris claimed that his termination did not comply with the procedures outlined in the personnel manual, which he argued required written reasons and warnings prior to termination.

The procedures to which petitioner referred were set forth in a 'Personnel Policies and Practices Manual' first distributed by respondent to its employees in 1978.

Issue

Whether the dismissal of De Petris's CPLR article 78 petition, claiming wrongful termination for failure to comply with procedures set out in an employee manual, was correct.

At issue on this appeal is whether a discharged employee's CPLR article 78 petition, claiming wrongful termination for failure to comply with procedures set out in an employee manual, was correctly dismissed.

Rule

The mere existence of a written policy does not limit an employer's right to discharge an at-will employee or give rise to a legally enforceable claim by the employee against the employer.

Mere existence of a written policy, without the additional elements identified in Weiner, does not limit an employer's right to discharge an at-will employee or give rise to a legally enforceable claim by the employee against the employer.

Analysis

The court applied the rule by determining that De Petris, as an at-will employee, could not establish that the employer's manual created a binding obligation to follow specific termination procedures. The court noted that De Petris did not provide evidence of detrimental reliance on the manual and acknowledged that the employer had the right to revise the manual, which was in the process of being updated at the time of his termination.

Petitioner, indisputably an at-will employee, openly acknowledges that he cannot prove the Weiner elements. He was already employed by the Center when respondent assumed responsibility and offers no evidence of detrimental reliance on the Manual.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the dismissal of De Petris's petition, concluding that he failed to demonstrate any violation of the manual's procedures and that the employer retained the right to terminate at-will employees.

Accordingly, the order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed, with costs.

Who won?

Union Settlement Association prevailed in the case because the court found that the employee manual did not limit the employer's right to terminate an at-will employee.

The trial court held that article 78 relief was available in a proceeding brought against a private corporation for violation of its internal rules but dismissed the petition on the ground that mere existence of the Manual did not limit the employer's right to terminate an at-will employee.

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