Posted by David Kopel:
W.V. Court Vindicates Self-defense Right for Employees:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2005_06_05-2005_06_11.shtml#1118499071
In [1]Feliciano v. 7-Eleven, a masked woman with a gun attempted to
rob the 7-Eleven where Feliciano worked. While the robber was
distracted by another employee, Feliciano grabbed her gun, and held
her captive until the police arrived. "Following this incident,
7-Eleven terminated Feliciano, who was an at will employee, for
failure to comply with its company policy which prohibits employees
from subduing or otherwise interfering with a store robbery."
The West Virginia Supreme Court cited numerous precedents showing that
the right of self-defense is very well-established and substantial
public policy. Accordingly:
we hold that when an at will employee has been discharged from
his/her employment based upon his/her exercise of self-defense in
response to lethal imminent danger, such right of self-defense
constitutes a substantial public policy exception to the at will
employment doctrine and will sustain a cause of action for wrongful
discharge. Consistent with our prior precedent, we hold further
that an employer may rebut an employee's prima facie case of
wrongful discharge resulting from the employee's use of
self-defense in response to lethal imminent danger by demonstrating
that it had a plausible and legitimate business reason to justify
the discharge.
References
1. http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/docs/fall01/29564.htm
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