Section 14 Public Policy Exceptions to the At-Will Doctrine

• Library: Personnel Hearings 2011

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The author does not intend to fully explore the at-will doctrine but notes that there appears to be some conflict in appellate cases concerning a so‑called “public policy exception” to this doctrine. The exception, as announced in Boyle v. Vista Eyewear, Inc., 700 S.W.2d 859 (Mo. App. W.D. 1985), appears to embrace the concept that an at-will employee may maintain an action for wrongful discharge if the dismissal followed the employee’s refusal to obey an order from the employer to commit unlawful acts or acts in violation of a clear mandate of public policy expressed in the constitution, statutes, or regulations promulgated in accordance with statute. This exception has been more narrowly defined in some cases. In Luethans v. Washington University, 838 S.W.2d 117, 119–20 (Mo. App. E.D. 1992), the court appears to limit the exception to when the employer has an express statutory, regulatory, or constitutional duty to refrain from discharging an employee for a specified reason. In Luethans, that authority was 9 C.F.R. § 2.32(c)(4), which prohibits retaliation against an employee who reports violations
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