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Whitings v. Wolfson Casing Corp.9/6/2005
policy. Accordingly, the court ordered that plaintiff's complaint be dismissed in its entirety. From this order entered 30 June 2004, plaintiff appeals. Plaintiff does not challenge the court's dismissal of her claim under REDA. Plaintiff's sole argument on appeal is that the trial court erred in dismissing her claim of wrongful discharge in violation of public policy. The trial court found that plaintiff's complaint alleging wrongful discharge in violation of public policy failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted for two reasons: (1) plaintiff refused to return to work when requested by defendant; and (2) plaintiff's employment was not terminated by defendant for filing a workers' compensation claim. We now consider whether either of these grounds will uphold the trial court's dismissal of plaintiff's claim.
In North Carolina, the employer-employee relationship is governed by the at-will employment doctrine, which states that "in the absence of a contractual agreement between an employer and an employee establishing a definite term of employment, the relationship is presumed to be terminable at the will of either party without regard to the quality of performance of either party." Kurtzman v. Applied Analytical Industries, Inc., 347 N.C. 329, 331, 493 S.E.2d 420, 422 (1997), reh'g denied, 347 N.C. 586, 502 S.E.2d 594 (1998). However, our Supreme Court has recognized a cause of action for wrongful discharge in violation of the public policy of North Carolina. See Coman v. Thomas Manufacturing Co., 325 N.C. 172, 175, 381 S.E.2d 445, 447 (1989).
There is no specific list of what actions constitute a violation of public policy. . . . However, wrongful discharge claims have been recognized in North Carolina where the employee was discharged (1) for refusing to violate the law at the employer's request, . .. (2) for engaging in a legally protected activity, or (3) based on some activity by the employer contrary to law or public policy[.]
Ridenhour v. IBM Corp., 132 N.C. App. 563, 568-69, 512 S.E.2d 774, 778 (internal citations omitted), disc. review denied, 350 N.C. 595, 537 S.E.2d 481 (1999).
This Court has stated that " ursuing one's rights under the Workers' Compensation Act, G.S. §§ 97-1 et seq. (2003), is a legally protected activity. . . . Therefore, a plaintiff may state a claim for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy where he or she alleges the dismissal resulted from an assertion of rights under the Workers' Compensation Act." Brackett v. SGL Carbon Corp., 158 N.C. App. 252, 259-60, 580 S.E.2d 757, 762 (2003). The plaintiff has the burden of pleading that the dismissal was causally related to the protected activity. See Salter v. E & J Healthcare, Inc., 155 N.C. App. 685, 693, 575 S.E.2d 46, 51 (2003).
Plaintiff argues that she has met her burden of alleging that her termination was causally related to a protected activity. In her complaint, plaintiff alleged that "Defendant refused to pay Plaintiff any disability benefits arising from her lost time from work when she could no longer operate the finishing machine, including any disability benefits that might have been due Plaintiff under the North Carolina Workers' Compensation Act, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-1 et seq." Plaintiff further alleged that "Defendant's conduct in discharging Plaintiff constitutes a wrongful discharge in violation of North Carolina public policyprotecting individuals against retaliatory discharge for asserting their legal rights under Chapter 97 of the General Statutes of North Carolina[.]" Essentially, plaintiff contends that she engaged in a protected activity when she requested that her employer pay for a medical evaluation of a work-related injur
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