1. The company’s employee handbook stated clearly that employment at the firm was strictly on an at-will basis. However, at other spots, the same handbook laid out policies for progressive disciplinary action when employees violated company rules, procedures that the company said it would follow whenever a reduction in force was required by financial circumstances, a letter from the company president saying that the company’s general practice was to terminate employees only when there existed “good cause,” and a policy of reassigning laid off employees who were performing satisfactorily.

Pursuant to a reduction in force, the chief financial officer terminated the financial reports supervisor after twenty-two years of good performance.

Does the supervisor have a cause of action for breach of his employment contract under the employee handbook as it is described to you above?

See Guz v. Bechtel National, Inc. [24 Cal. 4th 317, 8 P.3d 1089 (2000)].