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Wrongful Termination Essay

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Wrongful Termination Kenneth L. Mowery BUS670: Legal Environment Prof. Alexis Hooley August 20, 2012 Wrongful Termination “Over the past 20 to 25 years courts have been carving out common law exceptions to employment at will” (Mallor, Barnes, Bowers, & Langvardt, 2010, p. 1338). One of those exceptions is that of wrongful termination or unjust dismissal. In the past three years there have been five wrongful termination suits brought against Haywood Regional Medical Center. Three cases ended positively for the plaintiffs, while the other two showed that the Medical Center had the stronger case and that the Medical Center had just cause to terminate the employee. . “The remedies in successful wrongful discharge suits …show more content…

Dr. Shaikh’s attorney argued “that in the interest of fairness, Shaikh should have been given notice of his termination and a meeting to defend himself; instead of six months notice, the hospital was ordered to pay Shaikh six months’ salary” (Barry, 2005). This may not fall under public policy; however, it does fall under morality. It was morally wrong for the hospital to dismiss the services of the doctor with no reason being given. It was also morally wrong for the hospital to dismiss the doctor without giving him the right to defend himself. Implied Contract Exception “The implied contract exception to the at-will rule asserts that employers’ statements or actions regarding job security or termination procedures may constitute legally enforceable obligations if they are communicated to applicants/employees and if they are sufficiently specific to permit the courts to discern their intentions” (Hames, 1991, p. 125). An example given by Hames is that of Leikvold v. Valley View Community Hospital (1984). Leikvold was the director of nursing and asked to be reassigned to an available operating room supervisor position. Her job performance was exceptional if not satisfactory; however the CEO of the hospital fired her on the grounds that it was inappropriate to seek demotions (Hames, 1991, p. 125). Patient

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