Maria Franco v. Pier 1 Imports, Inc.

MEMORANDUM

Maria Franco appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of her former employer, Pier 1 Imports, Inc., in Franco’s case, which alleges breach of an implied contract not to terminate her employment without good cause, and disability discrimination in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, Cal. Gov’t Code § 12940(a). We affirm.

California law presumes an at-will employment relationship “if the parties have made no express oral or written agreement specifying the length of employment or the grounds of termination.” Alexander v. Nextel Communications, Inc., 52 Cal.App.4th 1376, 1380 , 61 Cal.Rptr.2d 293 (Cal.App.1997); see also Cal.Lab.Code § 2922 (“An employment, having no specified term, may be terminated at the will of either party on notice to the other.”). This presumption can be overcome only “by evidence that the employer and employee impliedly agreed to termination only for cause.” Alexander, 52 Cal.App.4th at 1380, 61 Cal.Rptr.2d 293 . The district court correctly concluded that Franco failed to produce evidence of an implied agreement that she could be terminated only for good cause. Franco’s assertions that her…