The Meaning of Just Cause in North Carolina Public Employment Law: Caroll and Its Progeny Provide for a Heightened Multifactor Standard for State Employee Disciplinary Cases

Abstract

This Article explores the doctrine of just cause in North Carolina public employment law. After a review of the leading North Carolina Supreme Court case of N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources v. Carroll and its progeny, this Article examines applicable just cause standards and analytical tests so that the true meaning of just cause can be better understood. Multi-factor tests are applied in order to employ a more objective just cause standard and to avoid unprincipled conclusions not founded upon established criteria