Chapter § 2.3

• Jurisdiction: New York

[2.3] Are there exceptions to the general "employment-at-will" rule in New York?

Yes. While employment-at-will is the general rule in New York, that presumption may be rebutted by a showing that the circumstances surrounding the employer-employee relationship gave rise to a limitation on the right to terminate.

In the landmark case of Weiner v. McGraw-Hill, Inc.,⁸ the New York Court of Appeals recognized a narrow yet significant exception to the at-will employment doctrine. In that case, an employee hired for an indefinite term, and subsequently discharged by the employer for "lack of application," brought suit against his employer for breach of contract alleging:

He was induced to leave his former job based on oral assurances that the company had a firm policy of not terminating employees without "just cause";

The job application signed by the employee specified that his employment would be subject to the company's handbook on personnel policies and procedures;

The company handbook expressly provided that the company would resort to dismissal only for just cause, and only after all practical steps toward rehabilitation and salvage of the employee had been taken and failed; and

He had turned down other offers of employment in reliance on the employer's verbal and written assurances.

The Court held that the employee could maintain a breach of contract action against his employer, even though he had been hired for an indefinite period of time. In so holding, the Court acknowledged that an employer's otherwise unfettered right to terminate an at-will employee can be limited by the inclusion of a "just cause" provision in the employer's employee handbook.

Cases decided in New York since Weiner have narrowly interpreted the ruling in that case. Indeed, post-Weiner courts have consistently held that restrictions on an employer's right of termination which are contained in an employee handbook or manual will not be enforced as part of the employment contract unless the purported restrictions are explicit, specific and unequivocal, and satisfy the high standards set in Weiner.⁹

Even if an employee can otherwise meet the Weiner standard, an employer generally will not be bound by statements contained in an employee handbook unless the employee can show that he or she knew of the provisions in the handbook at the time of hire and relied upon them in accepting employment.¹⁰

As noted above, an employer's right to terminate may also be limited either by statutory...