Archie was hired on April 1, 2011 at a non-unionized, privately owned, Michigan company called the Rosemary and Family Button Works (hereinafter referred to as RFBW) as a "Mixer."It was his job to follow a recipe to mix the plastic "goop" which was extruded, formed, pierced, and heat-fused into buttons.

Archie, who was employed as a computer technician at a unionized, "just cause" company at the time of his hire by RFBW, had learned of the job opening from his girlfriend of two years, Delilah, who is the president/owner's (Rosemary's) "baby" daughter.

Delilah told Archie that if he was hired, he could make a career of button making, as the company would employ him permanently, unless he was fired for "just cause."The 18 year old company had grown from one of just family members to one with an annual gross income of $17,000,000.00 and 80 employees.It specialized in single-run, custom made buttons made in the USA.

Archie wanted to work both at his computer job and the RFBW job.He would be able to cut the computer job back to 24 hours per week at work it in the evenings after he was done at RFBW.Archie applied for the Button Works job, and indicated his plans to keep the computer job as part time to Delilah's mother, Rosemary.She said that she wouldn't hire Archie if he "moonlighted" on another job.Archie quit his computing job so that he would be hired at the Button Works, as it would hinder his ability to direct his full attention to a career at RFBW.

Archie appeared for work on the appointed day and began his employment at RFBW by "processing in" at the HR office.He received and signed for an Employee Manual describing a number of benefits, responsibilities, and rules.Among them were as follows:

Section 7.

We pride ourselves on our relationship with our employees and we value each and every one of them.We will work with you to insure that you are treated fairly in all matters concerning your employment.

Section 11.

We here at RFBW appreciate your hard work and dedication to your duties.Accordingly, we have an "open door" policy.Please feel free to address any grievances that you have regarding your employment directly with the RFBW president by making an appointment to meet with her in her office.

Section 19.

Nothing in this manual is to be construed to create an contract of employment.Any of its provisions may be changed by the employer at any time without consultation with the employees.All employees of this company are "At-Will."This At-Will policy applies to all employees and can be changed only by the President of the company in writing.Either the employer or employee may terminate the employment relationship orally or in writing at any time for any reason or no reason, with or without advance notice.

Archie was shown a safety movie and given a tour of the facilities by an OU HRD intern who was working at RFBW for the semester.Directly thereafter, Archie had lunch with Delilah and asked her about the statements in the Employee Manual in relation to what she had told him earlier about job security.Delilah told Archie not to worry - the employees were all pretty good, and no one had ever been fired from the company during its 18-year history unless they had done something really bad.She correctly stated that "in fact, only two people have ever been fired in total - one who was caught stealing and one who punched the supervisor."

Archie started to work after lunch, and was assigned to the mixing department under the direct supervision of his girlfriend, Delilah.She instructed him as to his duties and told him that he would be on "Probation" for 6 months.

By October of 2012, Archie had become quite proficient at mixing.He had never received any discipline.He had been the Employee of the Month six times, the last time being in May of 2012.He had a perfect attendance record for all of 2011 and 2012.

As part of his duties, Archie would mix batches of "boutone" large enough to make 5,000 buttons each in an extra-large, industrial-sized, American-made, Hobart mixer by putting in the normal resins and chemicals and then adding colors according to the color formula and instructions from Delilah.

On October 15, Delilah told Archie that she would be going to an Alumni Seminar at Oakland University the next day, and that he was to fill an extraordinarily large order for 30,000 buttons of "324 Blue" in her absence.

On October 16, Archie proceeded to follow Delilah's instructions.It took him all day to make the six batches.Near the end of the day, however, when Rosemary, the owner, entered the production department from the office, she saw the blue buttons and loudly screamed "What idiot did this"It seemed that everyone in the place stopped what they were doing and looked at Archie.It turned out that the buttons were supposed to be "329 Teal" and not "324 Blue."

The whole plant had been engaged all day in making unusable custom color buttons wasting both time and materials resulting not only in a monetary loss, but a dissatisfied customer who needed the buttons to continue production at her US shirt factory.

As the other employees standing nearby listened, Archie told Rosemary that he had followed the specific instructions of Delilah in making the blue buttons.Rosemary immediately told Archie that he was fired and ordered him off the property - signaling for Knuckles, the Security Officer, to escort him out.A number of the employees, who had witnessed the exchange, quickly averted their eyes and returned to their duties so as not to draw the attention and/or wrath or Rosemary.

Archie immediately texted Delilah, urgently asking her to call him ASAP.She called him that evening as soon as she got home from the rather interesting and enlightening Oakland University Alumni Seminar presented by the HRD Student Association and honor Society.The next morning, Delilah and Archie went to Rosemary's office.Delilah admitted that the whole mix-up was her mistake and not Archie's.Rosemary said that Archie was still fired because his statement that it was Delilah that had made a mistake was insolent and had embarrassed the family in front of the other employees.Besides, she never liked him anyway and wished that Delilah would find a more ambitious and perhaps wealthier boyfriend.

Since that time, Archie has been without a job.He has also spent significant time seeing his Aunt Kelly, a psychiatrist, to help deal with his emotional and trust issues that have arisen from this whole incident.Aunt Kelly gives him a family discount on her services, but it's still tough since he has no income.He has looked for jobs and interviewed, but when he discloses his former employment and the circumstances of his departure, these potential employers thank him and tell him that he might be contacted in the future.No employer has contacted him.

Archie indicates to you that he feels that there was no just cause for his discharge.He wants his job back for some kind of money damages other than the Unemployment Compensation he received ($310/week for 20 weeks).He doesn't think that Rosemary could legally require him to stop working at his computer job as a condition of employment at RFBW.Now he can't return there because they are angry at him for quitting.He can't even visit Delilah at work, because he is too embarrassed to face the other employees after what happened.Archie believes that he was discriminated against.

1.Was the "No Moonlighting" rule legal - especially in light of the fact that it would not have interfered with Archie's work at RFBW?

2.Assume (for purposes of this section) that it was; did Archie's compliance with it causing him to relinquish his "just cause" computer job implied contract of employment producing a "just cause" standard for continued employment?

3.Does the fact that Archie successfully served as a probation period create a just cause contract of employment?

4.Does Archie's excellent employment record create the necessity for the employer to have just cause to terminate Archie's employment?

5.Is the termination of Archie's employment legal in light of the fact that the mistake was not Archie's fault?

6.Can Archie be legally fired for "embarrassing the family," even though the mistake was 100% a family member's fault?

7.Based on the facts presented, decide if Archie has a valid claim of illegal discrimination.

8.Are there any other claims that Archie could successfully file against RBFW?