Arkansas Supreme Court; Robert H. Dudley

“ The fact that an employer continues unjustifiable conduct over a long period of time can be an important factor weighing in favor of a finding that the employer's conduct towards an employee was outrageous. ”

“ Certain principles have emerged from this and subsequent cases in which we have considered claims for the tort of outrage in employment situations. The conduct giving rise to the cause of action must be extreme and outrageous, that is, "conduct that is so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized society." ”

“ After this survey of law in other jurisdictions, we held:
[A] n employer should not have an absolute and unfettered right to terminate an employee for an act done for the good of the public. Therefore, we hold that an at-will employee has a cause of action for wrongful discharge if he or she is fired in violation of a well-established public policy of the state. This is a limited exception to the employment-at-will doctrine. It is not meant to protect merely private or proprietary interests. ”