Originally published in the Utah Employment Law Letter - March 2013.

The Utah Court of Appeals recently overturned a trial court’s decision to dismiss a former employee’s claims without a trial, finding that the employer’s handbook was sufficiently unclear to permit the terminated employee to take his claims to a jury. The court held that the employee presented enough evidence for a jury to conclude that the employer’s handbook may have created an implied contract, thus prohibiting the employer from terminating certain employees without cause.

If employers wish to maintain a strong at-will-employment relationship, they should pay particular attention to this case and review — and, when appropriate, revise — their employee handbook and related policies and procedures to ensure they don’t find themselves in the same situation as the employer in this case.

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