Five years after Kathy Small began her employment with Spring Industries, the company distributed an employee handbook to all employees setting forth the company's termination procedure. It outlined a four-step disciplinary process consisting of a verbal reprimand, a written warning, a final written warning, and discharge. Small was discharged after only one written warning and sued the company for breach of contract.
Small contended that the company was bound by the plain language of the handbook and that it would be unjust for an employer to issue a handbook and not be held to its contents. Moreover, she contended that if company policies were not worth the paper on which they were printed, it would be better not to mislead employees by distributing them.
The company contended that Small did not present evidence that the parties agreed that the handbook was to become part of her employment contract and that if Small were to succeed, it would result in the removal of employee handbooks from the workforce and stifle economic growth in the state.
Did Small have an enforceable contract? Comment on whether handbooks will be removed from the workplace because of cases like this. What can an employer do to avoid liability under similar circumstances? [Small v. Spring Industries, Inc., 357 S.E.2d 452 (S.C.)]