While most wrongfully discharged employees seek to recover damages on a statutory, tort or contract-based theory, an additional basis of recovery has been recognized and developed by the courts in the past few decades: wrongful termination in violation of public policy. Under this theory, redress is available to at-will employees, normally terminable at any time and for any reason, when they are terminated (1) for asserting legally recognized rights; (2) for doing what the law requires and/or (3) for refusing to do what the law forbids. The scope of this type of recovery is narrow but has been recognized, for example, in cases where employees have been terminated for reporting unlawful behavior, for enforcing safety laws, or for refusing to commit perjury at an employer's request. It has also been applied to cases in which commissions-based employees are terminated in order to circumvent the employer's obligation to pay the employees for work already performed. Although pursuing and defending wrongful termination claims can be complicated, B&M's trial team has the experience and creativity necessary to successfully navigate our clients through this newly developed area of the law.