GORDON TAMENY, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. ATLANTIC RICHFIELD COMPANY et al., Defendants and Respondents, 27 Cal. 3d 167
Summary
The employee alleged that the employer had discharged him because he had refused to participate in an illegal scheme to fix retail gasoline prices. The employee sought recovery under theories of tort and contract. The trial court sustained a general demurrer to the employee's tort causes of action and the employee appealed. The court concluded that the employee's action for wrongful discharge was ex delicto and subjected the employer to tort liability. The employer's authority over the employee did not include the right to demand that he commit criminal acts on its behalf, and it could not coerce compliance with such unlawful directions by discharging the employee who refused to follow such orders. Such conduct violated a basic duty imposed by law upon all employers, and thus the employee who had suffered damages from being discharged could bring a tort action for wrongful discharge against the employer.