Public employee, policy and procedure, disparate treatment, due process.

Richard Greeno appeals a lower court's ruling in his suit against his former employer, the Little Blue Valley Sewer District. A newly-elected supervisor of the district terminated Greeno's employment with the approval of the district's board of trustees. Greeno filed suit, claiming the district violated the provisions of its employee handbook and denied him due process in the issue. Officials with the sewer district responded with a motion for summary judgment.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment. The court ruled that Greeno served as an at-will employee of the district and as such his employment could be terminated without notice. The court emphasized that the district's employee handbook was unilaterally approved by the district's trustees and was not the product of negotiations with a recognized union. Greeno now appeals.

Greeno loses. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the ruling of the district court. The appeals court ruled that Greeno did not have a protected property interest in continued employment. Therefore, the provisions of the handbook did not apply to his case and he was not entitled to due process. The appeals court concluded the lower court did not error in its handling of the case.