240 Conn. 576 | Conn. | 1997
Opinion
The plaintiff, John Faulkner, appeals
The first count of the plaintiffs substitute complaint alleged the following relevant facts. The plaintiff worked for the defendant as a supplier quality assurance representative from October 2, 1978, until April 29, 1991, when he was discharged by the defendant. The plaintiffs job involved inspecting helicopter parts provided by various suppliers to ensure that the parts met with the defendant’s engineering specifications. As part of his job, he was required to inspect parts supplied by subcontractors that were to be used in constructing United States Army Blackhawk helicopters that the defendant was producing pursuant to contracts with the federal government. On numerous occasions, the plaintiff rejected substandard and defective parts provided by suppliers despite pressure from the suppliers and from his superiors to accept the parts. The plaintiff reported the existence of the defective parts to his superiors, who did nothing constructive in response, but instead warned the plaintiff that he might be disciplined in the future for rejecting parts he deemed defective. Thereafter, the allegedly defective parts were used in the construction of various Blackhawk helicopters.
On April 29,1991, the defendant discharged the plaintiff on the ground that he had engaged in misconduct. In his complaint, the plaintiff alleged that the defendant actually discharged him because he refused to accept
The trial court construed the first count of the plaintiffs substitute complaint as alleging a wrongful discharge claim pursuant to the public policy limitation on the at-will employment doctrine, as enunciated in Sheets v. Teddy’s Frosted Foods, Inc., 179 Conn. 471, 427 A.2d 385 (1980), and its progeny. The court determined that, when a plaintiff brings such a claim charging a violation of public policy as expressed in a federal
“ ‘The purpose of a motion to strike is to contest. . . the legal sufficiency of the allegations of any complaint ... to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. In ruling on a motion to strike, the court is limited to the facts alleged in the complaint. The court must construe the facts in the complaint most favorably to the plaintiff.’ ... If facts provable in the complaint would support a cause of action, the motion to strike must be denied.” (Citations omitted.) Waters v. Autuori, 236 Conn. 820, 825-26, 676 A.2d 357 (1996). We conclude that the allegations of the plaintiffs substitute complaint, if proved, would constitute a viable cause of action.
In Sheets v. Teddy’s Frosted Foods, Inc., supra, 179 Conn. 480, in an effort to balance the competing interests of employers and employees, we recognized a public policy limitation on the traditional employment at-will doctrine.
The plaintiff, in his substitute complaint, alleged that the defendant discharged him in violation of the public policy against government contract fraud expressed in the Major Frauds Act. 18 U.S.C. § 1031.
Construing the plaintiffs substitute complaint in the manner most favorable to the plaintiff; Waters v. Autu-ori, supra, 236 Conn. 825-26; we read the complaint as alleging that the defendant was involved in a scheme to defraud the federal government by providing the government with Blackhawk helicopters that were constructed using substandard and defective parts. The complaint alleged that the defendant was producing the helicopters under a government contract,
In Sheets, we stated that “an employee should not be put to an election whether to risk criminal sanction or to jeopardize his continued employment.” Sheets v. Teddy’s Frosted Foods, Inc., supra, 179 Conn. 480. This appeal requires us to determine whether that proposition applies in a situation in which the source of the criminal sanction is federal, rather than state, law. In Sheets, the plaintiff alleged he had been discharged for reporting to his superiors repeated violations by his employer of the Connecticut Uniform Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Id., 478. We noted that the plaintiffs position as quality control director and operations manager exposed him to the possibility of criminal prosecution under the act. Id. In allowing the plaintiffs wrongful discharge claim to proceed, we stated: “We need not decide whether violation of a state statute is invariably a prerequisite to the conclusion that a challenged discharge violates public policy. Certainly when there is a relevant state statute we should not ignore the statement of public policy that it represents.” Id., 480. We did not, however, preclude the use of a federal statute to demonstrate that a discharge violated public policy. We perceive no difference between a situation in which an employee is forced to engage in conduct that may expose him to federal criminal sanctions and a situation in which an employee is forced to engage in conduct
The defendant argues that a wrongful discharge claim pursuant to the public policy limitation on the at-will employment doctrine cannot be predicated solely on a violation of federal law. The defendant cites the following cases in support of this proposition: McKenzie v. Renberg’s, Inc., 94 F.3d 1478, 1487-88 (10th Cir. 1996) (interpreting Oklahoma law to require plaintiffs claiming wrongful discharge to cite violations of Oklahoma statutes, constitutional provisions, or judicial decisions); Hicks v. Resolution Trust Corp., 970 F.2d 378, 380-81 (7th Cir. 1992) (interpreting Illinois law to require plaintiffs claiming wrongful discharge in violation of public policy expressed in federal statute to articulate clearly mandated state public policy); Olguin v. Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co., 740 F.2d 1468, 1475 (9th Cir. 1984) (interpreting Arizona law, in dicta, to require plaintiffs alleging retaliatory discharge to cite specific Arizona statutes or policies); Pratt v. Caterpillar Tractor Co., 149 Ill. App. 3d 588, 591, 500 N.E.2d 1001, cert. denied, 114 Ill. 2d 556, 506 N.E.2d 959 (1987)
First, we do not agree with the defendant that Sheets requires a violation of state public policy in order for a plaintiff to state a cause of action. Rather, Sheets and its progeny refer generally to violations of public policy as expressed in explicit statutory or constitutional provisions, or judicial decisions. See Antinerella v. Rioux, supra, 229 Conn. 492. In situations such as the present case, in which the plaintiff alleged that his employer discharged him because he refused to violate a federal criminal statute, and specifically cited the federal statute in his complaint, we do not find it necessary for the plaintiff also to allege an explicit connection between the federal statute and the policy of the state. We find support for our conclusion in the decisions of the courts of many other jurisdictions that have determined that claims brought pursuant to the public policy
Finally, we do not believe that our decision today impermissibly tips the balance between the interests of employer and employee, or creates any more uncertainty for employers than that generated by Sheets. The very nature of our decision in Sheets requires a case-
“We are mindful that courts should not lightly intervene to impair the exercise of managerial discretion or to foment unwarranted litigation. We are, however, equally mindful that the myriad of employees without the bargaining power to command employment contracts for a definite term are entitled to a modicum of judicial protection when their conduct as good citizens is punished by their employers.” Sheets v. Teddy’s Frosted Foods, Inc., supra, 179 Conn. 477. Our decision today falls squarely within the analytical framework enunciated in Sheets and its progeny.
The judgment with respect to the first count is reversed and the case is remanded with direction to deny the defendant’s motion to strike, and for further proceedings according to law.
In this opinion the other justices concurred.
The plaintiff appealed from the judgment of the trial court to the Appellate Court, and we transferred the appeal to this court pursuant to Practice Book § 4023 and General Statutes § 51-199 (c).
References to the defendant in this opinion are 1o the named defendant, United Technologies Corporation, Sikorsky Aircraft Division. The plaintiffs substitute complaint also contained two counts of slander, one against the Purdy Corporation, and the other against Robert Schmedlin, an employee of the Purdy Corporation. On June 16, 1995, the trial court rendered a judgment of dismissal for failure to prosecute on these two counts.
Title 18, § 1031, of the United States Code provides in relevant part: "Major fraud against the United States, (a) Whoever knowingly executes, or attempts to execute, any scheme or artifice with the intent—
“(1) to defraud the United States; or
“(2) t.o obt ain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, in any procurement of property or services as a prime contractor with the United States or as a subcontractor or supplier on a contract in which there is a prime contract with the United St ates, if the value of the contract, subcontract, or any constituent part thereof, for such property or services is $1,000,000 or more shall, subject to the applicability of subsection (c) of this section, be fined not more than $1,000,000, or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.
“(b) The fine imposed for an offense under this section may exceed the maximum otherwise provided by law, if such fine does not exceed $5,000,000 and—
“(1) the gross loss to the Government or the gross gain to a defendant is $500,000 or greater; or
“(2) the offense involves a conscious or reckless risk of serious personal injury.
“(c) The maximum fine imposed upon a defendant for a prosecution including a prosecution with multiple counts under this section shall not exceed $10,000,000 ....'’
A great majority of the states have adopted a public policy limitation on the at-will employment doctrine in one form or another. See Martin Marietta Corp. v. Lorenz, 823 P.2d 100, 105-106 and nn. 2 and 3 (Colo. 1992) (collecting cases); see also C. Sabey, “Scalpels and Meat Cleavers: Carving a Public Policy Limitation to the At-Will Employment Doctrine,” 1993 Utah L. Rev. 597, 602 n.41 (1993) (collecting cases).
See footnote 3.
Although the complaint does not allege that the value of the contract was $1,000,000 or more, that fact is necessarily implied by the averment in the complaint that the plaintiffs discharge violated the public policy against government contract fraud as enunciated in 18 U.S.C. § 1031 (a), since that provision applies only in situations in which the value of the contract is $1,000,000 or more. See Ferryman v. Groton, 212 Conn. 138, 146, 561 A.2d 432 (1989) (facts necessarily implied from averments in complaint need not be expressly alleged); Wachtel v. Rosol, 159 Conn. 496, 500-501, 271 A.2d 84 (1970) (motion to strike “admits all facts well pleaded, including facts necessarily implied from the other averments”); see also Wexler Construction Co. v. Housing Authority, 144 Conn. 187, 193, 128 A.2d 540 (1956).
We find the authorities cited by the defendant in support of its argument unpersuasive. We note that the factual circumstances of Hicks v. Resolution Trust Corp., supra, 970 F.2d 378, and Olguin v. Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co., supra, 740 F.2d 1468, are distinguishable from the factual circumstances of the present case. In Hicks, the federal statute that the plaintiff claimed his employer had violated did not provide for criminal sanctions. The plaintiff, therefore, was never subject to the possibility of criminal prosecution. Hicks v. Resolution Trust Corp., supra, 382. In Olguin, the court determined that the plaintiff, in reality, had pleaded the violation of a collective bargaining agreement. The court stated: “We need not consider here whether tort law protects employees from wrongful discharge in Arizona.” Olguin v. Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co., supra, 1474 n.7.
Practice Book § 131 provides: “ — Contents of Complaint
“The first pleading on the part of the plaintiff shall be known as the complaint. It shall contain a concise statement of the facts constituting the cause of action and, on a separate page of the complaint, a demand for relief which shall be a statement of the remedy or remedies sought. When money damages are sought in the demand for relief, the demand for relief shall include the information required by Gen. Stat., § 52-91.”