With another strike against employers’ rights, the Arizona Supreme Court recently decided in Demasse v. ITT Corp., 15 IER Cases (BNA) 97 (Ariz. May 25, 1999), that an employer could not unilaterally change the lay-off policy contained in its employee handbook. ITT Cannon ("ITT") had issued five editions of its employee handbook over a ten-year period. Earlier editions contained a provision that employees would be laid off in order of reverse seniority, while later editions provided that ability and job performance would be considered in a layoff. Although ITT’s handbook contained a disclaimer that reserved its right to modify its policies, the Court found that the disclaimer was not sufficiently clear and conspicuous to prevent the creation of an implied contract.
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