Free speech in elections includes anonymous leafleteering

The Supreme Court has ruled that a section of the state Election Code prohibiting anonymous distribution of political literature is unconstitutional because it violates free speech rights. In the case of People v. Margaret White (Docket No. 62926) justices on February 20 affirmed a lower court ruling that the law violates the U.S. and Illinois constitutions.

White had been charged for distributing a leaflet that did not identify its publisher and urged a write-in vote in a county race. The court found no compelling state interest in so restricting free speech. Justice Seymour Simon's opinion for the court said, "Voters are not sheep, and it is implausible to suppose that they will ignore the circumstance of anonymity in evaluating the message. In our opinion, the voters of this state are perfectly capable of assessing the merits of a viewpoint even though the person expressing it does not reveal his identity."
Michael D. Klemens

When employee handbook an enforceable contract

"An employee handbook or other policy statement creates enforceable contractual rights if the traditional requirements for contract formation are present." The Illinois Supreme Court reached this conclusion on January 31 in unanimously upholding an appellate court ruling that a Chicago hospital violated a nurse's rights by firing her without warning.

The ruling came in Duldulao v. Saint Mary of Nazareth Hospital Center (Docket No. 62737) with the opinion written by Justice Thomas Moran.

The nurse, Nora E. Duldulao, alleged that in 1981 the hospital gave her an immediate dismissal from her position as a personnel coordinator, in violation of the handbook's promise of "proper notice and investigation" for permanent employees before termination. The hospital's attorneys responded that Duldulao, who had worked at Saint Mary of Nazareth since 1968, had been transferred from a similar position nearly three months earlier and was therefore a probationary, not permanent, employee.

Moran, however, said the termination rules also applied to Duldulao, since they protected all employees after their "initial probationary period," when they were first hired, including those in a "designated probationary period" following a transfer.

He said employee handbooks must meet three criteria to be considered legally binding contracts:

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• "The policy statement must contain a promise clear enough that an employee would reasonably believe that an offer has been made."

• It "must be disseminated ... in such a manner that the employee is aware of its contents and believes it to be an offer."

• "The employee must accept the offer by commencing or continuing to work after learning of the policy statement."

The hospital's handbook met these criteria, and "the failure to provide [Duldulao] with the required process violated her contractual rights.''                                      Chris Gaudet

Remarried widows, minor children and worker's comp

The Supreme Court ruled January 31 that a widow who remarries and has no responsibility for minor children is not entitled to continuing benefits under the Worker's Compensation Act. Justices plumbed lawmakers' intent in arriving at their decision in the case of Carla Stewart v. the Industrial Commission (Docket No. 62345).

Stewart's husband died of work-related injuries. Four children by a previous marriage lived with their natural mother. Stewart remarried after his death. At issue was whether Stewart was entitled to continuing benefits or a lump sum payment of two years' benefits. Writing for the majority, Justice Seymour Simon found "the intent of the legislature to distinguish between surviving spouses who have dependent children to raise and those who do not is clear."

Justices Joseph H. Goldenhersh and Daniel P. Ward dissented and said Stewart was entitled to continuing benefits as the law was written. Goldenhersh commended the majority's "clairvoyant skills worthy of the Barnum and Bailey Circus in its heyday" in discerning the legislative intent.                  Deborah L. Gertz

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