Can a Description of Job Responsibilities Constitute an Employment Contract for a Guaranteed Term?

In Guisti v. Sterling Wentworth Corporation, the Utah Supreme Court again addressed whether a statement made by an employer can constitute an employment contract for a specified term. In that case, the plaintiff argued that an offer letter he received from his employer guaranteed twelve months of employment. In so arguing, the plaintiff relied on two sentences in the offer letter, which stated that the employer would provide the plaintiff with “a monthly subsidy payment or non-recoverable draw for a 12 month period to allow [the plaintiff] to build the staff in the product area and grow [his] personal book of business” and that “[f]or the first 12 months of employment, [the employer] will provide [plaintiff] with a payment of $7,500 per month.”

Although recognizing that employers can change the presumption of at-will status by manifesting an intent to guarantee employment for a specified period, the court held in Guisti that the employer’s statements in the offer letter did not rise to the level of a guarantee of employment. However, this case serves as a reminder that statements made by employers or their agents can, under certain circumstances, be used to alter the at-will employment presumption.