Preview

The Argument Against At-Will Agreements

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
465 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Argument Against At-Will Agreements
As a result, such an argument works in favor of the employer and eliminates the issues that organizations face with union employment since workers cannot hold the management hostage. If employees demonstrate they risk being dismissed and others getting hired. Further, through the employment-at-will clause, employers can escape unnecessary lawsuits that lead to loss of income from litigation expenses.
The Arguments against At-Will Agreements
The at-will agreements allow employers ease of hiring as well as firing. For any employee who is underperforming, they are bound to face the sack, which may qualify them for unemployment insurance if there lacks a paper trail of disciplinary action. Conversely, employees can be terminated for no good reason or any virtually any reason. The longevity of one’s contract may depend on the mood of the supervisor. As such, employees can never be 100 percent of their job security. In most cases, workers may devise a plan for side incomes, which robs the organization of productivity. The ruling in Montgomery County Hospital Dist. v. Brown (1998) provided that an employer's general oral assurances that an worker would not be terminated without good cause does not modify the employee's at-will status, absent a definite stated intent to be bound not to terminate the employee except under
…show more content…
Scott (1888) where the employee settled a personal injury claim against the company in return for the employer's promise that he would have a job "for whatever length of time the employee might desire to retain such employment. However, the court transferred the choice of length of time allotted by the agreement to the employer since that the contract provided the employee the right to fix any period, but since he had failed to fix a period prior to being discharged, the contract was indefinite and, therefore, at

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    This Employment Agreement is made effective as of June 26th, 2013 and is between Joshua James, Frederick Alan, and Dave Darwin of the Builders Licensing and Training Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan (referred to as “the company”) and John Andrews (referred to as “the employee”).…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    1. Milton lost because of an at will employment law states that employers have a broad discretion to terminate employees for any reason.…

    • 410 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the event that the case is filed, the defense may argue that the courts in Texas have always held that employment for an unspecified period may be ended at will. This argument is backed in the dissenting opinion in Aiello vs United Air Lines, Inc., 818 F.2d 1196 (1987) In this case, the judge quotes East line & RRR Co. Vs Scott and 72 Tex. 70,75 10, S.W. 99, 102 (1888). Yet another case cited in the Aiello vs United Air Lines, Inc., 818 F.2d 1196 (1987) case, is the Joachim v. A& T Information Sys., where the court ruled against the plaintiff following claims of discriminatory dismissal. The court in this case held that despite the provision that the company shall not terminate employment based on sexual preferences, the implied contract was not binding according to Texas law. However, Texas law provides that a disclaimer must be included in the handbook to ensure clarity regarding the nature of employment. This position, therefore, may be…

    • 1906 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Employer may feel useless during the establishment of union but there are things that they can do to minimize a union from forming within their organization.…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    According to the Employment-at-will doctrine an employers can terminate their employees for any reason, however there are three exception to the rules. They are public-policy exception, implied-contract exception, and covenant-of-good-faith exception.…

    • 1143 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    What is the employment at-will doctrine in the United States, and what are some of the major exceptions to the doctrine? How might the employment at-will doctrine engender a legal but immoral discharge? (based on Legal Challenges text Chapter 21 and Business Ethics text Chapter 16, Parts I and II; tied to course competencies 1, 2, 3, and 4)…

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    References: Muhl, J. (2001) The employment-at-will doctrine: three major exceptions Retrieved April 13, 2012 from findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1153/is_1_124/ai_71704724…

    • 1254 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1. How is employment-at-will applied in your organization or in one with which you are familiar? To what extent do the exceptions to employment-at-will limit its application in the organization? How might managers in the organization use knowledge of employment-at-will and its exceptions to protect the interests of the organization?…

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Employment at Will

    • 1705 Words
    • 7 Pages

    not performing their job successfully. At-will also means that an employer can change the terms…

    • 1705 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Everyday managers are faced with that dreadful task of firing an employee and that question on their mind prior to doing it is probably, "Am I doing this the legal way and will anything come back to haunt me at a later date?" Managers must understand all state and federal laws that pertain to lawful termination and employee rights, the way they do this is by reading company policies and researching all the laws that cover these areas and there are many out there. Therefore, how does employment-at-will work for the employer? The employee?…

    • 2048 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Employment at Will

    • 969 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Public policy exceptions to at-will employment are recognized to varying degrees by many states. In the employment relationship, public policy violations normally involve employee termination for refusing to violate the law, exercising or fulfilling a legal right or duty, or disclosing law breaking by an employer. (Bennett-Alexander, 2007, pp. 28-31)…

    • 969 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    ”Employers often, and legitimately, ask employees to sign contracts or agreements that document and enforce the terms of at will employment, usually in company policy manuals.” (Lawyersandsettlements.com, 2013, para. 4)…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Social Contract Theory

    • 1902 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Todays media and entertainment have recently been flooded with movies and TV shows based on a post apocalyptic world where the world has fallen into disarray and it has become every man for themselves. While there have been many terrible crimes against humanity our world hasn’t submitted to dissolution and in large part we have remained united. The reason the world hasn’t fallen back into such a primitive state is because of the social contract theory; the social contract theory is a theory about creating rules for humanity. Due to the social contract theory people had to change the way they thought and made decisions and these personal decisions eventually had a ripple effect on the larger community. Unlike theories in physical science, social…

    • 1902 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Uriah Heep Case Summary

    • 992 Words
    • 4 Pages

    An at-will employee is an employee who does not have employment contacts (Textbook, Pg. 415). Under the common law, an at-will employee can be discharged by and employer at any given time for any reason. Now, an employee who has been wrongfully discharged can sue the employer for damages and other remedies such as reinstatement in Mr. Heep’s case. The Case study doesn’t provide very detailed information on the case so I am going to look at this from several perspectives. It is very clear that Uriah Heep has been on payroll and is a documented worker for the City of Boca Grande. He pays taxes and benefits from full time employment. His weekend shifts at the nightclub may or may not be documented. He may be working there for cash and may have signed no documents. This can be seen as if he is not even employed at the nightclub. There is no evidence; the only evidence was by mouth from other employees. This could be a personal attack on Uriah Heep, which resulted in…

    • 992 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Employment relationships are presumed to be “at-will” in all U.S. states except Montana. The U.S. is one of a handful of countries where employment is predominantly at-will. Most countries throughout the world allow employers to dismiss employees only for cause. Some reasons given for our retention of the at-will presumption include respect for freedom of contract, employer deference, and the belief that both employers and employees favor an at-will employment relationship over job security.…

    • 2523 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays