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Howard v. Wolff Broadcasting Corp.

611 So. 2d 307 (1992)

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Howard v. Wolff Broadcasting Corp.

Alabama Supreme Court
611 So. 2d 307 (1992)

  • Written by Haley Gintis, JD

Facts

In fall 1987, Patricia Williams Howard (plaintiff) was hired by Wolff Broadcasting Corporation (Wolff) (defendant). Howard did not enter an employment contract with Wolff. In January 1987, Wolff terminated Howard because the owner’s wife had requested that no females be broadcast on air. Because Wolff had only seven employees, it was not subject to certain federal antidiscrimination laws. In response to the termination, Howard sued Wolff for breach of contract and wrongful discharge. To support the breach-of-contract claim, Howard argued that she and Wolff had an implied contract under which Wolff would not discriminate against her and that this contract modified Howard’s status as an at-will employee. Howard alleged that the implied contract was formed because Wolff was required to comply with regulations of the Federal Communications Commission prohibiting gender-based discrimination and Howard had accepted these terms by agreeing to work. To support the wrongful-discharge claim, Howard argued that the court should create a public-policy exception to the employment-at-will doctrine to prohibit an employee’s gender-based termination. The trial court granted Wolff summary judgment. Howard appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Maddox, J.)

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