Four employees were hired at the same time by Equitable, an insurance company. They were mid-level managers who traveled a lot for work. The company changed its expense-reporting procedures after the employees were hired. Unfortunately, the company did not train everyone very well on the new procedures. The four employees eventually got called in to speak with their supervisor about their expense reports, and all four were asked to repay some of the money they had received as reimbursement by the company. Shortly after that, all four of them were fired by the company with no notice - in two cases, the employees were questioned by management in front of other employees and then told to collect their belongings immediately; they were escorted out of the building.
All four employees sued the company, claiming that they had done nothing wrong and that the company had violated its contract (the employee handbook) with them by discharging them without previous warning.
The employee handbook sets forth Equitable's human resources policies. Among its provisions are sections on "Job Security" and "Dismissals." Here is what the employee handbook said: "Equitable seeks to ensure the job security of all salaried employees...Except for misconduct serious enough to warrant immediate dismissal, no employee will be discharged without previous warning and a period in which to bring performance up to a satisfactory level."
For your homework, please answer the following question:
write a one page response 12pt times new roman font.
Are the four employees in this case "employees at will", or did the employee handbook written by Equitable create a contract exception to the employment at will doctrine?