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Case Citations [i] (Spring 2026)

handle is hein.ali/aliemploy0048 and id is 1 raw text is: THE AMER CAN LAW INSTITUTE Spring 2026 Citations EMPLOYMENT LAW CHAPTER 5. THE TORT OF WRONGFUL DISCHARGE IN VIOLATION OF PUBLIC POLICY § 5.03. Wrongful Discharge in Violation of Public Policy: Sources of Public Policy Tenn.2025. Com. (b) quot. in sup. and in ftn. Employee who was terminated for emailing state legislators to express grievances about a vaccination mandate employer implemented during a pandemic filed a claim for common-law retaliatory discharge against employer, alleging, among other things, that defendant's violation of her right to petition under the Tennessee constitution entitled her to sue under the public policy exception to the at-will-employment doctrine. The trial court granted defendant's motion to dismiss. The court of appeals reversed. This court affirmed the trial court's ruling, holding that at-will employees like plaintiff could not assert a claim of retaliatory discharge against private employers like defendant based on the right to petition granted by the Tennessee constitution. The court reasoned that, under Restatement of Employment Law § 5.03, Comment b, federal and state constitutions primarily addressed government action, and as a general matter did not apply directly to private-sector employers or employees. Smith v. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, 710 S.W.3d 686, 703. COPYRIGHT C2026 By THE AMERICAN LAW INSTITUTE All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America For earlier citations, see the Appendices, Supplements, or Pocket Parts, if any, that correspond to the subject matter under examination.