EMPLOYMENT LAW – Claim of wrongful discharge for refusing to violate law not found: Welsh v. Phoenix Transportation Services, LLC (COA 8/14/2009)

Welsh v. Phoenix Transportation Services, LLC
2007-CA-001231 8/14/09 2009 WL 2475206

Opinion by Judge Nickell; Senior Judge Rosenblum concurred; Judge Thompson concurred in result only.

The Court affirmed a summary judgment of the circuit court in favor of the appellee employer on appellant’s claims of wrongful discharge in violation of public policy and tortious interference with employment. The Court held that an employee claiming wrongful discharge due to a refusal to violate the law must show an affirmative request by the employer to violate the law. Therefore, the trial court properly granted summary judgment to the employer for appellant’s failure to establish the necessary nexus between her firing and her belief that she was asked to engage in fraud or a tax evasion scheme.