ANTHONY NICOSIA, PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT, v. WAKEFERN FOOD CORPORATION, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT, 136 N.J. 401
Summary
Appellee employee filed suit against appellant employer for the wrongful termination of his employment and alleged that appellant had no cause for the termination and that the discharge was wrongful because the employment manual distributed by appellant constituted an implied contract that barred termination without cause. The court rejected appellant's argument that appellee was an at will employee and held that absent a clear disclaimer to the contrary, an employment manual distributed to employees created an implied employment contract that employees would be terminated only for cause. Appellant's disclaimer was not prominently displayed and not stated in plain language and was ineffective to disclaim the existence of an implied employment contract. In defense, appellant claimed that after acquired evidence showed good cause for termination. The court found that there was ample support in the record for the jury's rejection of appellant's conversion counterclaim, which negated the ...