M Civ JI 110.05 Wrongful Discharge: Employment Relationship Terminable at Will Unless Terms or Conditions to the Contrary

An employment relationship is terminable at will unless an employer has agreed otherwise or the employer’s policies provide otherwise. Terminable at will means that the employment relationship may be terminated by either party at any time, with or without cause, for any reason or for no reason at all. However, the employment relationship is not terminable at will if one or more of the express or implied terms or conditions of the employment relationship provide otherwise. (Where it is claimed that there was an agreement for job security based on oral statements, those statements must be clear and unequivocal.)

Note on Use

The sentence in parentheses should not be read to the jury if there is no issue as to whether the statements are clear and unequivocal.

Comment

Toussaint v Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Michigan, 408 Mich 579; 292 NW2d 880 (1980); Valentine v General American Credit, Inc, 420 Mich 256; 362 NW2d 628 (1984); Bullock v Automobile Club of Michigan, 432 Mich 472; 444 NW2d 114, reh’g denied, 433 Mich 1201 (1989), cert denied, 493 US 1072; 110 S Ct 1118; 107 L Ed 2d 1024 (1990). Rowe v Montgomery Ward & Co, Inc, 437 Mich 627; 473 NW2d 268 (1991).

History

M Civ JI 110.05 was added December 1990. Amended January 1993.