Hoendermis v. Advanced Physical Therapy, Inc., 251 P.3d 346

Hoendermis was hired in 2000 as practice manager/administrator; duties later claimed to be managerial and supervisory, including financial matters and staff direction; APT's Policy and Procedure Manual reserved unlimited discretion to terminate and outlined progressive discipline but allowed immediate discharge; Hoendermis was terminated January 10, 2006 for alleged misconduct and poor coworker relations; she applied for unemployment benefits and was denied for misconduct; she sued in superior court seeking overtime and wrongful termination, and APT moved for summary judgment, which the court granted; on appeal the Alaska Supreme Court reverses on both overtime and wrongful termination claims.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Hoendermis qualify as exempt from AWHA overtime.	Hoendermis argues she was not administrative/executive and spent >50% clerical work.	APT shows duties primarily managerial and discretionary; she was salaried.	Genuine issues of material fact preclude summary judgment on exemption.
Whether collateral estoppel bars wrongful termination claim.	DOL decision only addressed benefits, not wrongful termination.	DOL finding of misconduct should preclude similar claims.	Not precluded; issues differ and DOL decision does not bar the claim.
Whether policy manual created a right to progressive discipline.	Manual imposes progressive discipline and creates expectation of due process.	Manual grants unlimited discretion; no guaranteed steps.	Manual did not create a reasonable expectation of progressive discipline.
Whether covenant of good faith and fair dealing was breached.	Other employees with worse misconduct were not disciplined; disparate treatment.	Treatment justified by worker relations with supervisor; not unfair.	Genuine issues of material fact on disparate treatment preclude summary judgment.

Holland v. Union Oil Co. of California, 993 P.2d 1026 (Alaska 1999) (manuals may modify at-will employment; hedging language does not guarantee rights)
Whitesides v. State, Dep't of Pub. Safety, Div. Of Motor Vehicles, 20 P.3d 1130 (Alaska 2001) (fact-specific inquiry into exempt status and time allocation)
Era Aviation, Inc. v. Seekins, 973 P.2d 1137 (Alaska 1999) (at-will and covenant principles applied to termination decisions)
Manning v. Alaska R.R. Corp., 853 P.2d 1120 (Alaska 1993) (collateral estoppel and employee misconduct considerations)
Jones v. Central Peninsula Gen. Hosp., 779 P.2d 783 (Alaska 1989) (policy-based at-will employment and rights implications)