Pang v. Int’l Document Servs.

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Plaintiff, an attorney, filed a complaint against his employer, alleging that he was terminated for refusing to violate the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct. Specifically, Plaintiff alleged that he was fired for refusing to break the law by complying the company’s ongoing violation of usury laws in numerous states. The district court dismissed the complaint, concluding that Plaintiff was an at-will employee and that his termination did not violate a clear and substantial public policy of the state. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court properly dismissed Plaintiff’s wrongful termination claim, where Plaintiff failed to invoke a clear and substantial public policy that would have prohibited his employer from terminating him, and where rule 1.13(b) of the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct does not reflect the type of public policy that prevents the termination of an at-will employee; and (2) the district court erred when it denied Plaintiff’s request for a hearing, but the error was harmless. View "Pang v. Int’l Document Servs." on Justia Law