The Details
Background
At-Will Employment
Absent certain exceptions, such as an express or implied contract or public policy, the at-will employment doctrine provides that either the employer or the employee can terminate the employment relationship at any time and for any reason, as long as the reason is a lawful one. Most states, including Colorado, recognize the doctrine.
State Self-Defense Protections
Colorado's self-defense statute allows a person to use force reasonably believed necessary to defend against the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force, subject to certain limitations. Additionally, the Colorado Constitution recognizes individuals' right to enjoy and defend their lives.
Colorado Supreme Court Case
In the case before the Colorado Supreme Court, a retail employee sued their employer for wrongful termination, claiming that they were terminated after lawfully acting in self-defense during an encounter with an alleged robber carrying two knives.
The Colorado Supreme Court was asked whether state law supports a public-policy exception to the at-will doctrine for lawful self-defense.
The court ruled that Colorado law supports a narrow public-policy exception when an employee is terminated for lawfully exercising self-defense in response to an unprovoked workplace attack. To support the public-policy exception, the court explained that self-defense is sufficiently job-related because the need for self-defense can arise anywhere, including the workplace. The right to self-defense is a public right rather than an individual proprietary right.
Next Steps
Employers with employees in Colorado should:
· Work with legal counsel to review workplace violence, robbery-response, and loss-prevention policies to ensure they don’t prohibit lawful self-defense.
· Evaluate disciplinary and termination decisions involving employees who may have acted in self-defense during workplace incidents.
· Train managers and those who handle investigations on the court's newly recognized public-policy exception.
· Consult legal counsel before disciplining or terminating employees involved in workplace altercations where self-defense may be implicated.