Murray v. St. Michael's College

• Decision Date: 08 September 1995
• Docket Number: No. 94-538,94-538
• Citation: 164 Vt. 205,667 A.2d 294
• Court: Vermont Supreme Court
• Parties: , 104 Ed. Law Rep. 1246, 15 IER Cases 372 Barbara and Michael MURRAY v. ST. MICHAEL'S COLLEGE and Donald Sutton.

Page 294

667 A.2d 294

164 Vt. 205, 104 Ed. Law Rep. 1246,

15 IER Cases 372

Barbara and Michael MURRAY v. ST. MICHAEL'S COLLEGE and Donald Sutton.

No. 94-538.

Supreme Court of Vermont.

Sept. 8, 1995.

David H. Greenberg, Burlington, for plaintiffs-appellants.

Paul K. Sutherland and Michael J. Harris of Sutherland & Collins, Inc., Burlington, for defendants-appellees.

Jeffrey L. Amestoy, Attorney General, and Seth A. Steinzor, Assistant Attorney General, Montpelier, for amicus curiae State of Vermont.

Before ALLEN, C.J., and GIBSON, DOOLEY, MORSE and JOHNSON, JJ.

JOHNSON, Justice.

Plaintiff Michael Murray, a former security officer for St. Michael's College, and his wife, Barbara Murray, ^* appeal the superior court's order granting defendants summary judgment on their claims that the College and plaintiff's supervisor (1) discriminated against plaintiff in retaliation for his filing a workers' compensation claim, (2) violated a covenant of good faith and fair dealing implied in his employment contract, and (3) intentionally caused him to suffer emotional distress. Plaintiff also contends that the court failed to address his claim that his supervisor tortiously interfered with his contractual relations with the College. We reverse in part and affirm in part.

I.

From 1985 to 1993, plaintiff worked for defendant College as a security officer under the supervision of defendant Donald Sutton, the Director of Safety and Security. For the last four years of his employment with the College, he held the rank of sergeant. In May 1991, while working overtime during commencement events, plaintiff experienced swelling and discomfort in his left knee. As the result of that injury, he filed a workers' compensation claim and was out of work from late May until early September 1991. After conducting an investigation, the College's workers' compensation carrier denied plaintiff's claim in August 1991. Plaintiff appealed the denial to the Department of Labor and Industry and obtained a decision entitling him to workers' compensation benefits. Plaintiff alleges that during and after the period in which he applied for and received the benefits, defendants discriminated against him by badgering him to come back to work, changing his employment duties and responsibilities, requiring him to work night shifts in breach of a previous agreement, changing his work hours, giving him unfairly low job evaluations, and challenging his right to receive workers' compensation benefits.

In May 1992, an incident between plaintiff and a graduate student led to disciplinary action against plaintiff. The student asked plaintiff, who had some experience repairing cars, if he was interested in repairing and possibly buying the student's car, which was not running. After working on the car, plaintiff told the student that it needed major repairs. He offered to help the student junk the car, saying he would need the title to dispose of the vehicle. After obtaining the title, plaintiff arranged to sell the car for $200. When the student heard about the sale, he complained to plaintiff's supervisor, who suspended plaintiff pending further decision. Four days later, Sutton demoted plaintiff from sergeant to patrol officer and placed him on probation for six months. Plaintiff appealed the decision, first to the Vice President of Administration and then to the President of the College, who upheld the demotion but ruled that it would run only for one year, at which time plaintiff would be eligible to be reappointed to sergeant.

Plaintiff never returned to work following his demotion. During the second half of 1992, plaintiff submitted letters from various doctors and psychiatrists stating that stress-induced depression prevented him from working. Plaintiff was fired as of March 5, 1993, after his short-term disability benefits ran out.

The Murrays filed suit against defendants in March 1993. On July 11, 1994, the superior court granted defendants' summary judgment motion, ruling that (1) plaintiff had failed to demonstrate that his demotion was retaliatory in nature, (2) defendants had come forward with sufficient evidence of a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the demotion, (3) plaintiff's remaining allegations of discriminatory treatment were insufficient to establish a discrimination claim, and (4) plaintiffs' other claims arose directly from the discrimination claim and thus could not stand on their own. On July 22, 1994, plaintiffs filed a motion for reconsideration, which was denied on September 9, 1994. Plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal on October 5, 1994.

On appeal, plaintiff argues that the court erred in granting summary judgment to defendants because (1) his pleadings and affidavits demonstrate the existence of genuine issues of material fact as to whether defendants discriminated against him; (2) his claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress and of a violation of an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing stand independently of the discrimination claim; and (3) the court failed to address his claim of intentional interference with contractual relations. Defendants counter by arguing that (1) this Court lacks jurisdiction to review the trial court's July 11, 1994 ruling because plaintiff's motion for reconsideration was, in effect, a V.R.C.P. 60(b) motion, which does not toll the thirty-day period for filing a notice of appeal; (2) the court did not abuse its discretion in denying plaintiff's motion for reconsideration; and (3) in any event, the court did not err in granting their motion for summary judgment. The Attorney General has filed an amicus curiae brief, in which he takes no position on the merits of plaintiff's claims, but urges this Court to recognize that employees have a private right of action to bring suit alleging that their employer discriminated against them in retaliation for their filing a workers' compensation claim, in violation of 21 V.S.A. § 710.

II.

At the outset, we reject defendants' argument that plaintiffs' appeal is untimely filed. Both the timing and contents of plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration indicate that it was, for all intents and purposes, a motion to alter or amend the judgment under V.R.C.P. 59(e), not a Rule 60(b) motion for relief from judgment. The motion was timely filed. See V.R.C.P. 59(e) (motion to alter or amend must be filed within ten days of judgment); V.R.C.P. 6(a) (when period prescribed is less than eleven days, intermediate Saturdays and Sundays are excluded from computation). Therefore, the time period for filing an appeal of the July 11, 1994 order was tolled pending a ruling on the motion. V.R.A.P. 4; see Osborn v. Osborn, 147 Vt 432, 433, 519 A.2d 1161, 1162-63 (1986) (Rule 59(e) motion suspends finality of judgment, allowing trial court to revise initial judgment if necessary).

III.

Defendants first argue that plaintiffs' discrimination claim should be barred because this Court has not recognized a private cause of action for monetary damages based upon an alleged violation of 21 V.S.A. § 710(b), which provides that "[n]o person shall discharge or discriminate against an employee from employment because such employee asserted a [workers' compensation] claim...." We conclude that a private right of action under § 710 is appropriate.

Although generally an at-will employment contract may be terminated by either party to the contract at any time with or without cause, Ross v. Times Mirror, Inc., 164 Vt. 13, ----, 665 A.2d 580, 584 (1995), this Court has recognized an exception to this general rule when the employer's alleged actions contravene clear and compelling public policy. Jones v. Keogh, 137 Vt. 562, 564, 409 A.2d 581, 582 (1979); see Payne v. Rozendaal, 147 Vt. 488, 494, 520 A.2d 586, 589 (1986) (discharge of employee solely on basis of age is practice so contrary to society's concerns for providing equity and justice that there is clear and compelling policy against it; therefore, at-will employee may bring wrongful discharge claim in such situation). Under this exception, the great majority of courts have recognized the tort of retaliatory discharge for filing a workers' compensation claim. 2A A. Larson, The Law of Workmen's Compensation § 68.36(a), at 284-307 (1995); see Niesent v. Homestake Mining Co., 505 N.W.2d 781, 783 (S.D.1993) (citing cases so holding). The reasoning behind this holding is best summed up in the leading case, Frampton v. Central Indiana Gas Co., 260 Ind. 249, 297 N.E.2d 425, 427 (1973):

The [Workmen's Compensation] Act creates a duty in the employer to compensate employees for work-related injuries (through insurance) and a right in the employee to receive such compensation. But in order for the goals of the Act to be realized and for public policy to be effectuated, the employee must be able to exercise his right in an unfettered fashion without being subject to reprisal. If employers are permitted to penalize employees for filing workmen's compensation claims, a most important public policy will be undermined. The fear of being discharged would have a deleterious effect on the exercise of a statutory right. Employees will not file claims for justly deserved compensation--opting, instead, to continue their employment without incident. The end result, of course, is that the employer is effectively relieved of his obligation.

(Emphasis in original.)

We agree with the Indiana Supreme Court's holding that employees have a private right of action when an employer allegedly discharges them or discriminates against them for filing a workers' compensation claim. Workers' compensation law represents a public policy compromise in which "the employee gives up the right to sue the employer in tort in return for which the employer assumes strict liability and the obligation to provide a speedy and certain remedy" for work-related injuries. Lorrain v. Ryan, 160 Vt. 202, 214, 628 A.2d 543, 551 (1993). Allowing...