Alaska Employment Law

Jason Bresser worked as an independent contractor at Schlumberger’s Prudhoe Bay motor shop.  Given his classification, Schlumberger did not permit Bresser to participate in its retirement and health benefits plans.  In 2005, Schlumberger terminated his employment.  In this litigation, Bresser challenged his classification and contended Schlumberger suspended and then fired him in retaliation for “having brought problems of […]

Burgess rejects summary judgment for FedEx
FedEx Ground uses “independent contractors” to deliver its packages.  In Anchorage, FedEx Ground contracted with John Thompson to run packages to the Kenai/Soldotna area, and Thompson in turn contracted with Joe Williams.  Joe Williams later sued FedEx Ground, under state law, for overtime compensation, breach of contract, etc., arguing that he […]

Court addresses NLRA pre-emption, good faith claims, misrepresentation, and probationary status
The Supreme Court issued an important employment opinion this past Friday.  The Court unanimously (per Bryner, with Eastaugh not participating) upheld some, but not all summary judgment rulings by Anchorage Superior Court Judge Mark Rindner. 
Plaintiff Willard claimed that Khotol Services Corporation had breached his employment contract, breached the […]

Grooming policy defeats public policy claim to privacy; unanimous opinion augers poorly for employees 
The Court has affirmed the trial court’s (Charles Huguelet) summary judgment for Safeway on Miller’s implied covenant claim that Alaska ’s public policy of privacy protected his right to wear his hair long.   In an earlier opinion, the Court had disposed of Miller’s claims based […]

Judge Beistline certifies issue of public policy tort to the Alaska Supreme Court
In this case, reported earlier, Judge Beistline has certified the following  question to the Alaska Supreme Court:
Does an at-will employee have a tort public policy claim under Alaska’s implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing when an employer discharges that employee in order […]

If an employer has earlier misapplied its policy, must it continue to do so?
Employers sometimes make mistakes by granting benefits to ineligible employees, or by failing to discipline culpable employees.  Later, another employee may want the benefit of the same mistakes - either to get the same undeserved benefits, or to get immunity from discipline […]

The plaintiff in Johnson v. Fred Meyer Stores, Inc. claims that her supervisor replaced her with [CORRECTION] a woman toward whom he had romantic feelings.  Her various statutory claims (age, FMLA, etc.) have been dismissed or withdrawn (Docket # 81, 02/09/07), leaving only a common law count for breach of the implied covenant of good […]

The 9th Circuit has reversed Judge Timothy Burgess, and held that a commerical liability carrier breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing to its insured by issuing an inadequate denial of coverage.  The Court of Appeals held:
The denial letter made no reference to any specific law or facts relating to Lutz’s dispute with […]

The Alaska Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in two employment-releated cases.
Miller v. Safeway, Inc., S-12331: 
Safeway terminated Miller’s employment in 2001 because Miller failed to comply with Safeway’s grooming code regarding hair, beards and mustaches. This is Miller’s second visit to the Supreme Court. The present appeal questions whether Safeway’s lack of documentation supporting the […]