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Reid v. City of Albany11/2/2005
RUFFIN, C. J., JOHNSON, P. J., BARNES, J.
Proceeding pro se, Willie Henry Reid sued the City of Albany and three city employees for wrongful termination. The trial court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Reid appeals, and for reasons that follow, we affirm.
A motion to dismiss "`may only be granted if the allegations in the complaint disclose with certainty that the plaintiff would not be entitled to relief under any state of facts that could be proved in support of the claim.'" We review the trial court's ruling on a motion to dismiss de novo, construing the pleadings in favor of the plaintiff.
Reid's two-page complaint contains very few allegations. He contends that he was "arbitrarily terminated" from employment with the City's engineering department and that the defendants "falsified" his "termination document." He further claims that the defendants "conspired to deceive Department of Labor investigators." With respect to the termination, Reid apparently contends that his dismissal violated the City's personnel policies, which, according to Reid's appellate brief, "had provisions for hiring, disciplining, firing, and due process to ensure employees were treated reasonably fair." In essence, he alleges that the termination violated his due process rights.
The defendants moved to dismiss the complaint, asserting that Reid's allegations - even if taken as true - failed to state a claim. They specifically noted that Reid was an at-will employee and thus, as a matter of law, could not bring a wrongful termination claim. The trial court granted the motion to dismiss.
1. Reid has admitted in several court filings that he was employed by the City at will and had no contractual right to continued employment. Under Georgia law, at-will employees may be terminated for any or no reason, and they generally cannot recover for wrongful discharge. The motivation underlying the termination usually does not matter; an employer may discharge an at-will employee without liability. As noted by our Supreme Court, this bar to wrongful discharge claims in the at-will employment context "is a fundamental statutory rule governing employer-employee relations in Georgia."
The legislature has created limited exceptions to the statutory bar. But Reid has not cited - and we have not found - an exception that applies here. On the contrary, allegations that an at-will employee's termination violated the employer's discipline policies do not give rise to a wrongful discharge claim. Reid also alleges that he was terminated in retaliation for reporting his superior's wrongful use of city resources and that such termination violated various statutes. Again, however, he has provided no authority that might support a wrongful discharge claim based on this conduct. And we decline to create a judicial exception to the statutory bar in this case. Accordingly, the trial court properly dismissed these allegations.
2. Reid further claims that the defendants falsified his separation notice filed with the Georgia Department of Labor ("DOL") and "conspired to deceive investigators." These allegations apparently relate to the denial of unemployment benefits.
Under OCGA § 34-8-256 (b), an employer who knowingly makes false statements or representations to prevent or reduce unemployment compensation payments faces criminal penalties. And pursuant to OCGA § 34-2-13 (b), " ny person who shall knowingly testify falsely, under oath, or shall knowingly make, give, or produce any false statements or false evidence, under oath, to the Commissioner of Labor or his authorized representatives commits the offe
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