 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Lloyd v. AMF Bowling Centers Inc.2/23/1999
Appellant, Gary Lloyd, appeals from summary judgment granted in favor of his employer, AMF Bowling Centers, which found that his firing by AMF did not constitute wrongful termination. We affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Lloyd was the head mechanic for AMF. He was responsible for maintaining the technical operations of the bowling alley and for supervising the other mechanics. Lloyd normally worked weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Although the record is not entirely clear regarding his obligation to cover for the other mechanics, Lloyd acknowledged that "the operation of the machines was his responsibility," that "if someone. . . fell over and died" it would have been his responsibility to replace him or her, and that he, therefore, might have to cover. Notwithstanding, Lloyd had never been unexpectedly called in to work during his employment by AMF. On the other hand, upon prior notice he occasionally did have to fill in for the other mechanics.
In November 1995, Lloyd took a one week vacation. On Saturday, November 11, the day after the end of his vacation, Lloyd received a phone call from Arthur Faiello, a pin mechanic, who told him that he was sick and asked if he could go home. Lloyd told Fiaello that he could, even though that would leave no mechanic at the bowling center, because Lloyd believed he could "afford" to let Faiello go at that time of day and because Faiello's replacement was expected to arrive within a few hours. Lloyd testified that Faiello asked him to come to work to "cover his shift," but that he told Faiello he did not have anyone to watch his son.
Approximately ten minutes after his conversation with Faiello, Lloyd received a call from Kenneth Stump, AMF's assistant manager, who asked Lloyd if it was really okay if Faiello went home because that would "leave nobody in the back." Lloyd testified that he told Stump that was okay because they had "a very minimal amount of lanes running at the time" and "nothing scheduled until later that night" as far as bowling leagues were concerned. When Lloyd arrived at work on Monday, Harry Kees, AMF's manager, fired him.
Lloyd testified that he had explained to Faiello that he could not come to work because he had no one to look after his four-year-old son. Lloyd also testified that he had been unable to contact his teenage daughter, who sometimes cared for the children, because she was out with friends; that he had no one else with whom he could have left his son; and that he did not take his children to work with him. According to Kees's testimony, when he talked to Lloyd on Monday, Lloyd said that the reason he could not go to work on Saturday was because he was still on vacation but he also said it was because he could not get a babysitter. Kees also testified that he understood from others that Lloyd had not gone to work on Saturday because he could not get a babysitter.
Kees explained that there had been other problems with Lloyd's performance and that his failure to come to work on Saturday was "the straw that broke the camel's back." Kees also stated that "the biggest reason [for the termination] was the fact that [Lloyd] didn't come to work when there was nobody to cover the back end."
Lloyd filed a complaint alleging wrongful termination in which he claimed that he had been fired because he had refused to cover the Saturday shift and leave his two young children home alone. Lloyd asserted that his termination violated public policy because it would have required him to leave his children unattended, thereby committing a criminal act pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated ("A.R.S.") sections 13-3619 (neglect) and 13-3
Page 1 2 3 4 Arizona Employee Leasing Services
Employee Leasing Services
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|