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Cripe9/28/2005
ral Indiana Gas Co., 260 Ind. 249, 297 N.E.2d 425 (1973). In that case, the court held that an employee discharged for filing a worker's compensation claim could bring a claim for retaliatory discharge. Id. at 428. A second exception to the employment-at-will doctrine adopted by our supreme court provides that if an employee can establish that "adequate independent consideration" supports his employment contract, the court will generally conclude that the parties intended to establish a relationship in which the employer may terminate the employee only for good cause. Orr v. Westminster Village North, Inc., 689 N.E.2d 712, 718 (Ind. 1997) (citing Romack v. Public Serv. Co., 511 N.E.2d 1024, 1026 (Ind. 1987) (adopting in substantial part and incorporating Judge Conover's dissent in Romack v. Public Serv. Co., 499 N.E.2d 768, 777 (Ind. Ct. App. 1986))). An employee may also avoid the harsh results of the employment-at-will doctrine by invoking the doctrine of promissory estoppel. Orr, 689 N.E.2d at 718. To do so effectively, the employee must demonstrate that (1) the employer made a promise to the employee; (2) the employee relied upon that promise to his detriment; and (3) the promise otherwise fits within the Restatement (Second) of Contracts test for promissory estoppel. Id. (citing Jarboe v. Landmark Community Newspapers of Indiana, Inc., 644 N.E.2d 118, 121 (Ind. 1995)).
Of particular significance to this case is our supreme court's decision in McClanahan v. Remington Freight Lines, Inc., 517 N.E.2d 390 (Ind. 1988). In that case, McClanahan, who was an interstate truck driver, refused to drive his overweight truck into Illinois because it would violate Illinois law. Upon arrival at his employer's headquarters in Indiana, McClanahan was informed that he was no longer employed. McClanahan's employer pointed out that the employee manual provided that a driver's refusal to carry a load constituted a "voluntary quit." McClanahan, 517 N.E.2d at 391. McClanahan later filed a claim against his employer for wrongful discharge.
Based on the employee manual, which suggested that McClanahan had voluntarily quit, the court could have decided the case based on the constructive discharge doctrine. The court, however, did not do this and instead concluded that McClanahan had been fired. The court first noted that "firing an employee for refusing to commit an illegal act for which he would be personally liable is as much a violation of public policy declared by the legislature as firing an employee for filing a workmen's compensation claim." Id. at 393. Under these circumstances, the court determined that an exception to the employment-at-will doctrine was appropriate. Id. As the majority points out, in fashioning this exception the court stated:
If McClanahan had chosen to drive his overweight truck through Illinois, he would have been personally liable for violation of Illinois law and subject to a fine. Furthermore, he would have been jointly and severally liable for the cost of repairing any damage to the highway or highway structures caused by his overweight vehicle.
Depriving [an employee] of any legal recourse under these circumstances would encourage criminal conduct by both the employee and the employer. Employees faced with the choice of losing their jobs or committing an illegal act for which they might not be caught would feel pressure to break the law simply out of financial necessity. Employers, knowing the employees' susceptibility to such threats and the absence of civil retribution, would be prompted to present such an ultimatum.
Id. (citations omitted). The court ultimately held that McClanahan had stated a claim for wrongful or retaliatory discharge wh
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