§ 1.2.8.1.3 Retaliatory Discharge Under the Employment Protection Act. Under the EPA, an employee may bring a tort claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy if the employer terminated the employee in retaliation for refusal to commit an act or omission that would violate Arizona's statutes or constitution; for whistleblowing?to a public entity or to the employer?on anything reasonably believed to be a violation of Arizona's statutes or constitution by the employer or an employee of the employer; or for exercising certain rights established by statute or common law.115
Before the passage of the EPA, the court of appeals had refused to limit retaliation claims to only those involving retaliation for refusing to break the laws of Arizona. In the case of Cummins v. Mold-In Graphic Systems,116 the court of appeals had held that a violation of federal law would also provide a basis for a wrongful termination claim. The Cummins court saw "no difference between the employee who is terminated for refusing to break the laws of our state and the employee who is terminated for refusing to violate our federal laws." Notwithstanding the logic of this decision, Cummins is inconsistent with the express language of the EPA.
Cummins also held that in a claim of retaliation for refusal to violate the law (as opposed to whistleblowing), a claimant...
