Jason Little v. Eastgate of Jackson, LLC d/b/a Eastgate Discount Beer & Tobacco

This is a retaliatory discharge case.  The plaintiff was an at-will employee of the defendant store.  While at work, the plaintiff witnessed a woman across the street from the store being physically assaulted by an unidentified man. The plaintiff employee took a baseball bat from under the work counter, left the work premises, and yelled and gestured at the assailant with the bat, causing him to leave the scene. The plaintiff then brought the woman back to the store, where the police were called.  Two days later, the defendant store terminated the plaintiff’s employment because he had left the work premises to aid the assault victim.  The plaintiff employee then sued the defendant, asserting that his termination violated Tennessee public policy. The defendant filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on its face, arguing that the termination did not violate a clearly established public policy of the State of Tennessee. The trial court denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss, determining that the complaint stated a valid claim for retaliatory discharge. The defendant was granted permission to file this interlocutory appeal by the trial court and by this Court.  We affirm, finding that the complaint states a claim for retaliatory discharge in violation of a clear public policy of the State of Tennessee.