AUGUSTA — A judge has rejected a lawsuit filed by apprentice workers at Bath Iron Works who claimed their program was canceled after they were promised job security.

Seventeen apprentices and three of their spouses sued BIW for breach of contract. Most of them said they quit steady jobs to join a program they were told would last four years, but was canceled one week before it was to begin.

Kennebec County Superior Court Judge Donald G. Alexander granted BIW’s request for a summary judgment.

“This is an appalling decision,” said Jed Davis, the workers’ lawyer. “It means an employer can go out and tell people that they’ll have jobs for a certain amount of time, tell them to quit their current jobs, then lay them off.”

Davis said he planned to appeal to the state supreme court today.

Davis plans on filing another lawsuit in the next few weeks on behalf of about 100 BIW workers laid off in February after three months of work. They also say they quit jobs to work at the shipyard after being assured steady employment.

The lawyer said he would consider filing that lawsuit in Sagadahoc County to avoid having it heard by Alexander.

In the case rejected Wednesday, BIW argued that the apprentices were not yet employees since they had not started to work.