Employment at will
means that an employer can
fire an employee
for a good or a bad reason, or for no reason at all.
If a reason is given, it cannot be based on
discrimination
or retaliation, such as being fired for reporting
illegal activities or unsafe conditions.
In the same way, an employee can
quit a job without a reason, or for a good or a bad
reason. Employment at will for the most part
favors the employer. There is little employees can
do to protect themselves from the whims of the employment
at will doctrine.
The right of a company to unilaterally
(“affecting only one side”) terminate
an employee at will, with or without cause, was
confirmed by the courts in the late 1800s. This at-will
doctrine has been reinforced through the years by
statutes and court rulings, and remains the main defense
employers use against disgruntled employees who have
been discharged suddenly without any reason
provided.
Exceptions
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Protesting against
employment at will |
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Rights of the employee at the
workplace |
The presence of a
law or administrative rule restricts an employer’s
ability to fire at will. These laws or rules
take many forms, and typically prevent employers from
terminating employees for filing workers’
compensation claims, or for refusing to perform a
dangerous work task. This is the public policy
exception accepted by 42 states.
The implied-contract
exception holds that the presence of any written materials
or conversations implying the long-term stability
of an employee’s job entitles the employee to
compensation for most types of dismissal. This
is accepted by 38 states.
The third exception,
termed the “covenant of good faith and fair
dealing” exception, applies to only 11 states.
This exception holds that even in the absence of rules
establishing the first and second types of exception,
employers are obligated to provide a legitimate reason
for every employee dismissal.
There are three
board categories of employee who are not governed
by the employment at will doctrine:
Government
employees: Federal, state
and local government workers are protected by the
5th and 14th Amendments, which prohibit the
government from depriving any person of "life,
liberty or property" without the due process
of law. These employees are considered to have a property
interest in their jobs, and the right to due process
places significant restrictions on arbitrary dismissals
unrelated to job performance.
Union
members: All collective bargaining agreements
between labor unions and employers stipulate that
unionized employees can be fired only for just
cause, and only after a hearing before a neutral arbitrator.
Contract
employees: Senior executives, performers, athletes
and some other well-situated employees work under
individual employment contracts that provide protection
against unjust dismissal.
Note: No employees
can be discharged for an illegal reason because
of their race, sex, age, religion, nationality,
or disability.
