§ 6.1.2 OVERVIEW|ELEMENTS.

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

§ 6.1.2 Overview/Elements. The Arizona courts have recognized four categories of potential public policy violations. They are terminations because an employee (1) refuses to participate in illegal behavior; (2) performs an important public obligation; (3) exercises a legal right or privilege; or (4) exposes possible wrongdoing by the employer.⁴

There is as yet no Arizona case specifically articulating the elements of a wrongful discharge claim premised upon the public policy exception.⁵ However, subject to certain unique statutory limitations discussed infra,⁶ the elements of the claim in Arizona presumably are similar to those in other jurisdictions in which the claim has been recognized.⁷ In Courtney v. Landair Transport, Inc.,⁸ for example, the Sixth Circuit described the elements of the claim in the following terms:

[A] plaintiff must prove the following four elements in order to prevail on a claim of wrongful discharge in violation of public policy:

(1) a clear public policy existed and was manifested in constitutional, statutory or common law;

(2) dismissal of the plaintiff under the circumstances at issue would jeopardize the public policy;

(3) the plaintiff's dismissal was motivated by conduct related to the public policy; and

(4) the employer lacked an overriding legitimate business justification for the dismissal.⁹

In Higgins v. Assmann Electronics, Inc.,¹⁰ the Arizona Court of Appeals held that the manner in which an employee is terminated must be taken into consideration in determining the relief to which the employee is entitled...