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)

Authors

Marilou Rickert

Abstract

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.

First Page

997

Recommended Citation

Marilou Rickert, Note, 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), 64 Wash. L. Rev. 997 (1989).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr/vol64/iss4/11