Wrongful Termination Cases

Trial court did not err by granting motion for judgment on the pleadings on claim for wrongful termination. Construing the material allegations contained in the complaint as true and in favor of appellant, the trial court properly concluded that appellant was a casual or day-to-day substitute teacher and thus was an at-will employee subject to termination with or without cause. Accordingly, the school district was entitled to judgment as a matter of law on appellant's wrongful termination claim.

Unemployment compensation/Whether quit with just cause

Judgment affirmed. ODRC presented reliable, probative, and substantial evidence demonstrating that appellant violated Rule 7 of the performance track of ODRC's standards of employee conduct when she failed to follow a written directive from her superior. Because appellant had previously entered into a last chance agreement with ODRC, wherein she agreed that any violation of the performance track of ODRC's standards of employee conduct would result in her termination from employment, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in affirming SPBR's order affirming ODRC's order removing appellant from her employment with ODRC. The trial court acknowledged that, pursuant to R.C. 124.34(B), SPBR's review was limited to determining whether appellant had violated the last change agreement.

The trial court erred in dismissing plaintiff's claims for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy under Civ.R. 12(B)(6).

Employment termination

Cross-motions for summary judgment. Breach of contract claims. Wrongful termination claim. Ambiguous contract language.

Summary judgment Civ.R. 56 employment discrimination retaliation R.C. 4112.02. As plaintiff could not show that a similarly situated, non-protected person was treated more favorably, she did not establish a prima facie case of discrimination. Additionally, the court determined that no reasonable finder of fact could conclude that plaintiff established a prima facie case of retaliation. Plaintiff failed to adduce evidence of a causal connection between her participation in an interview with an investigator and her termination. Defendant's motion for summary judgment was granted.

Plaintiff-appellant appeals the trial court's decision upholding an order of the City of Dayton's Civil Service Board (Board) which affirmed his demotion from Firefighter Recruit to Emergency Medical Technician-Basic. The demotion occurred during Plaintiff-appellant's Firefighter Recruit probationary period with the demotion being triggered by an injury he sustained during recruit training which prevented him from completing the Firefighter Recruit training program. Plaintiff-appellant's demotion did not violate any state or federal law, and, further, it is not contrary to public policy. Plaintiff-appellant's demotion occurred in a manner consistent with Civil Service Rule 10, Section 5. The Board's reference to Rule 12, Section 3 in its order, though misplaced, does not affect the validity of the Board's determination. Plaintiff-appellant's demotion was not unreasonable. Finally, Plaintiff-appellant's appeal to the Board was not illusory. Judgment affirmed. (Froelich, J., concurring in judgment only.)

Administrative Law, Just Cause, State Employee

Summary judgment Title VII employment discrimination and retaliation sexual harassment

employment at will doctrine - public policy exception - tort

Single joint employer doctrine retaliatory discharge sexual harassment/hostile work environment jury interrogatories plain error closing arguments

Workers' compensation-Violation of specific safety requirement-Industrial Commission did not abuse it discretion in granting additional award-Record contained evidence supporting commission's finding that specific safety requirement applied, that employer violated it, and that violation was proximate cause of injury-Whether worker disobeyed employer's instruction to stay out of hazardous area is immaterial.

Whether the Department of Public Safety had just cause to terminate a corrections officer from employment for allegedly unacceptable conduct application of Chapters 126 and 150B to the employee's appeal from an administrative law judge's final decision reversing the termination and imposing a lesser sanction.

Where the evidence and circumstances showed that company-wide demographic statistics were likely to prove relevant to a disparate impact claim (either to aid or damage the claim), such statistics were properly discoverable and summary judgment granted against claimants denied their discovery is reversed.

Trial court's determination regarding purported oral lease purchase agreement of mobile home is affirmed, particularly where there was testimony that appellants misrepresented the year of the mobile home.

In the absence of a genuine issue of material fact, the trial court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of Miami Valley Hospital on Noelle Diller's claims of sexual harassment (hostile environment) and retaliation. While the trial court abused its discretion in striking Exhibits B, C, and D, attached to Diller's memorandum in opposition to MVH's motion for summary judgment, since the Exhibits were properly authenticated business records, the documents were either not in dispute, were otherwise part of the record, or were not relevant to the summary judgment decision, and the error was harmless. Judgment affirmed.