Chapter 12 - § 12.2 • HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE TORT

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 12.2 • HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE TORT

§ 12.2.1—United States Case Law

In 1959, the California Court of Appeals first recognized the public policy exception in the landmark decision of Petermann v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 344 P.2d 25 (Cal. App. 1959). Petermann claimed he was fired for refusing to commit perjury at the direction of his employer, a labor union. Relying on statutory provisions prohibiting perjury, the court found that the discharge of an employee under these circumstances violated public policy. Since Petermann, courts throughout the United States have recognized claims based on an employee's refusal to commit an unlawful act.²

In another seminal case, the Indiana Supreme Court recognized a claim by an employee who alleged that he was fired in retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim. Frampton v. Central Ind. Gas Co., 297 N.E.2d 425 (Ind. 1973). The court in Frampton declared that terminations for this reason could discourage employees from seeking benefits, thereby undermining the fundamental purpose of the workers' compensation system. Following Frampton, most states have extended the public policy exception to employees terminated for exercising a statutory right or privilege. See, e.g., Amos v. Oakdale Knitting Co., 416 S.E.2d 166 (N.C. 1992) (refusing to work for less than the minimum wage); McClung v. Marion County Comm'n, 360 S.E.2d 221 (W. Va. 1987) (employee fired after suing employer to recover overtime pay).

In 1975, the Oregon Supreme Court recognized a claim by an employee fired for responding to a jury summons. Nees v. Hocks, 536 P.2d 512 (Or. 1975). Since then, the public policy exception has been widely applied to employees terminated for fulfilling jury service and other public obligations. See, e.g., Ressler v. Humane Soc'y of Grand Forks, 480 N.W.2d 429 (N.D. 1992) (honoring a subpoena). Many jurisdictions also permit public policy claims brought by whistleblowers — employees fired for reporting illegal conduct. See, e.g., Parnar v. Americana Hotels, Inc., 652 P.2d 625 (Haw. 1982) (talking to employer's attorney regarding antitrust violations); Palmateer v. Internat'l Harvester Co., 421 N.E.2d 876 (Ill. 1981) (cooperating with law enforcement regarding a co-employee's alleged criminal activities).

§ 12.2.2—Colorado Case Law

In 1978, the Colorado appellate courts first addressed the public policy exception in Lampe v. Presbyterian Medical Center, 590 P.2d 513 (Colo. App. 1978). There, the...