Employment At Will Doctrine Is Legal Rule Essay

In addition, the “At-Will-Employment Law” gives the employer the capacity to unfairly change the terms of the employment relationship with no notice and no consequences.

An “at will” employee is an employee who agreed to a contract in which they can be fired at any time, for almost any reason. The law generally presumes that employees are employed at will unless they can prove otherwise.

In dealing with a person’s livelihood, and often, sense of self, it is of no surprise that ethical issues regarding employment practices are of great concern. The issues of employment at will and due process contracts in the workplace are among the most widely contentious in the realm of employment. Employment at will is the doctrine that employment may be ended, by either party, for good, bad or no cause at all.1 Due process, on the other hand, is the employment practice in which a person may appeal a decision as a means of receiving an explanation and the opportunity to argue against it.2 Employment at will is the standard in the majority of private corporations today and is argued for relentlessly by freedom of contract enthusiasts,

A wrongful discharge case is a major exception to at-will employment. There is a Common Law of the exceptions to a wrongful discharge case to At-Will Doctrine includes terminations that violate state policy. It also includes termination after the creation of an implied contract of employment. Furthermore, termination of service in violation of an implied covenant involves good faith and fair dealing. Moreover, unlawful termination includes termination that violates federal, local, or local laws to combat discrimination.

When we are dealing with the employment relationship between employers and employees, ethical issues are most likely to emerge. Especially, if a manager fires a worker without a proper reason, critics will follow this employer’s behavior. In Patricia Werhane’s paper, “Employment at Will and Due Process”, discusses two doctrines which are Employment at Will (EAW) and Due Process. It also addresses some justifications and objections for EAW, and shows Werhane’s supportive view to Due Process. In contrast, EAW is defended by Richard Epstein in his article “In Defense of the Contract at Will”. In my paper, I will attempt to develop my argument in favor of Employment at Will that could improve flexibility and efficiency of

“At- Will means that an employer can terminate an employee at any time for any reason, expect an illegal one, or for no reason without incurring legal liability” (At-Will Employment). It crazy to think that every state expect Montana is at will and that US is one of a few countries where employment is at will. We work so hard in American and yet no job security unless we are in a union. At will mean employers can change your contract with no notice or consequences. In the article What Do Employment At will mean it states “Employers are also not required to provide notice or explanation when terminating an at-will employee and the court would deny any claim attempting to seek benefits for losses as a result of termination (Doyle). These employees were not fired due to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age or sexual orientation. So even though it was wrong and not fair that they were fired. It still wasn’t illegal and it doesn’t qualify as exceptions to the at will

Depending on the status of the employee upon hiring or later, he or she may be granted at a will contract or a property interest contract in a continued employment (Varone, 2012). Because at a will employees cannot expect a continued employment, they can be terminated for any reason or without reason (Varone, 2012). For property interest employees, due process must be provided before job termination stated Varone (2012). Public employees such as municipal and district firefighters even under at a will contract cannot be terminated without just cause or in a violation of law affirmed Varone (2012). A fire chief who was fired due to an alleged incompetence filed a law suit against his employer. The facts, the issues, the ruling, the rationale, a perspective, and example in which the court’s decision might be cited are addressed in this paper.

There are legal protections in place for wrongful discharge and may be classified as arising from grounds of constitutional, statutory or common law regulations. As with all laws, some employees are only protected if employed in the public sector, unionized sector, or those employees who hold individual employment contracts. All things considered, the public policy exception to employment-at-will holds employers liable in tort for wrongful discharge when employees are terminated for taking actions that public policy requires. This type of wrongful discharge claim is recognized in about 40 states and if the courts allow the terminations to stand, it would offend and undermine public policy. In summary, employers cannot legally terminate employees

The at-will employment doctrine is the belief that employers have the right to fire anyone at any time for any reason,

Employment at will is a law that is present in all fifty states in the US; although, in Montana there requires a stated cause for termination. Employment at will creates dissent among employees when they have been terminated for a cause that is thought to be unsubstantial or when no cause is given. There are pros and cons to the presumption, and employees and employers have different views. Employment at will means that the employer can terminate an employee at any time, for any cause without warning. However, even an at-will employee cannot be terminated because of discriminatory reasons. Employment at will also means that an employee can leave a job at any time without the fear of facing any legal consequences. An employer can also

Employment at will is essentially a rule that strips employees and employers from their rights to due process when it comes to workplace termination. Under this principle employers may let any person go for any reason at any time during their employment with or without just cause. Your stature at the company, time worked, personal conduct; none of those things have to be taken into consideration if you are let go. This means that if an employee does not agree with their grounds for termination, they have no legal right to fight it in a court of law. Employment at will also allows employees to quit their job at any time, again regardless of having just reasoning or not. The only case where an employment at will principle would not apply is if an employee, when hired, signed a document that stipulates other specific terms and conditions regarding grounds for termination/quitting. An important thing to make note of is just as if an employee had signed a contract, they are made aware before being brought on full time, that they are an “at will” employee. These soon to be employees are voluntarily signing that they abide by what is defined in the employment at will principle.

The exceptions to the employment-at-will rule are meant to protect workers from wrongful termination of their employment. This is provided to all employees covered by the federal law, state laws, CDAs, public policy and employment contracts among other situations. The following are some of the major exceptions to the employment-at-will doctrine.

Whether from an employee handbook or an employment contract, most people are often unaware that they are an at-will employee. What exactly does being an employee-at-will mean? It simply implies that your employer could decide to terminate your employment with or without your notice and for any cause whatsoever. In this case, many times, the employers will have an upper hand over the employee and there is absolutely nothing they can do to absolve themselves from the impending situation. If any, there are very few remedies that could win you back your employment. That, of course, is unless the employer broke labor laws or did something to violate your employee rights.

Employment-at-will has been an established segment of common law in the United States, which states that either party to

In the world, it is hard to sometimes hard to balance life between things that don’t involve work and things that involve your work. At-Will Employment is a contractual relationship between an employee and an employer that allows dismissal for any reason without just cause. The idea of at-will employment originated in 1877 with Horace Gray Wood. Horace Gray Wood dealt with master and slave relations. The question with at-will employment becomes is it ethical to let an employee go based on non-work difficulties. The ethical decision that is being examined is “Is it ethical for a manager to terminate an employee whose performance has markedly declined non account of dealing with non-work personal difficulties?” The at-will doctrine is