The California Supreme Court Extends the String of Gains for Employers into the Areas of At-Will Employment and Discrimination

The California Supreme Court handed employers a significant victory on October 5, 2000 in Guz v. Bechtel National, Inc. First, the court somewhat limited the ability of terminated employees to reach a jury on a claim of breach of an implied contract to terminate only for good cause. In doing so, it gave new life to clear and unequivocal statements of at-will employment in employment documents and underscored the greater efficacy of an at-will employment agreement signed by employees. Secondly, the court applied the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision made earlier this year in Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Services, Inc. very narrowly, to enable employers to continue to avoid trial on claims of age discrimination in violation of the California Fair Employment & Housing Act when the employer presents strong evidence of a legitimate reason for the employment decision and the former employee offers only weak evidence of a discriminatory motive.

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