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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Personnel Manual Exception To Employment-At-Will: Is Job Security Merely An Illusion?—Stewart V. Chevron Chemical Co., 111 Wash. 2d 609, 762 P.2d 1143 (1988), Marilou Rickert
Washington Law Review
Washington recognizes the personnel manual exception to the employment-at- will doctrine but applies the exception restrictively. In Stewart v. Chevron Chemical Co., the Washington Supreme Court reversed a plaintiff's judgment for wrongful discharge. This Note analyzes the court's decision and finds it a step backward from previous Washington law establishing exceptions to the employment-at-will doctrine. After Stewart, Washington provides less protection for employees than do other states. This Note suggests that a better rule would allow the trier of fact to decide whether a personnel manual is contractually binding.
Specific Incident Polygraph Testing Under The Employee Polygraph Protection Act Of 1988, Ryan K. Brown
Specific Incident Polygraph Testing Under The Employee Polygraph Protection Act Of 1988, Ryan K. Brown
Washington Law Review
The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 was enacted to protect private individuals from unjust termination or denial of job opportunities resulting from unwarranted polygraph tests. The Act, however, allows private employers to continue using polygraphs as part of "ongoing investigations" of employee misconduct. This Comment examines the ambiguous language of this exemption that courts will encounter when determining whether employers have violated the Act. The Comment proposes that, unless legislative history or federal regulations indicate otherwise, ambiguities in the specific incident exemption should be broadly construed to avoid employer liability.