Weiner v. McGraw-Hill, Inc.
Court of Appeals of New York
443 N.E.2d 441 (1982)
McGraw-Hill (defendant) induced Weiner (plaintiff) to leave Prentice-Hall by assuring him he would only be terminated for just cause, a promise repeated in McGraw's personnel handbook incorporated into his employment application; Weiner accepted, forfeiting accrued benefits and promised raises at his old job, and over eight years received promotions and raises while repeatedly declining other job offers and being told he could likewise only fire his own subordinates for just cause. When McGraw fired him for lack of application in 1977, he sued for wrongful termination; the trial court denied McGraw's motion to dismiss, but the Appellate Division reversed on the theory his employment was at will, and Weiner appealed.
Whether an employer's promise not to terminate an employee without just cause becomes binding once the employee begins providing services under that promise.