Crosier

Plaintiff Jerry Crosier (Crosier) appeals from a summary judgment entered against him in his action for wrongful discharge from employment. We are asked to decide whether Crosier presented any triable issues of material fact which would preclude summary judgment. We affirm the judgment entered by the trial court.

Facts

Crosier began his 25-year career with defendant United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) in 1956. He worked as a driver for 14 years until 1972, when UPS promoted him to manager of its Westlake Center. In 1978 he was promoted again to manager of the Ventura Center where he supervised approximately 65 employees. Crosier’s supervisors consistently reviewed his work performance favorably and soon after his promotion to management in 1972, he received UPS stock under the management incentive program.

In December 1979 Crosier began dating a nonmanagement employee who also worked at the Ventura Center. They began living together in May 1980 and at one point during their relationship, Crosier promoted her at UPS. This promotion caused employee comment and another employee complained of favoritism to Crosier’s supervisors.

Since 1975 UPS has had an unwritten rule…