UConn BLAW 3175 - PPT chapter 18, 19 (employment law) (27 pages)

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1 14 19 Dr Gerlinde Berger Walliser EMPLOYMENT LAW Chapter 18 19 1 Employment at Will This person was dumber than we initially thought should be a valid and legal reason to fire anybody From Ruminations com by Aaron Karo True or False Employment at Will Common Law Employment at will doctrine All may dismiss their employees at will be they many or few for good cause for no cause or even for cause morally wrong without being thereby guilty of legal wrong Payne v Western Atlantic Railroad Co 81 Tenn 507 519 520 1884 WL 469 at 6 Sep term 1884 Employment at Will Under U S common law an employer may dismiss an employee for cause for no cause or for bad immoral unethical cause U S is the only industrialized Western Nation whose law recognizes employment in the absence of a contract otherwise to be employment at will About 85 of all jobs in the US Example Fired for necktie http legalstudiesclassroom blogspot com 2011 01 employment at will fired for choice of html Employment at Will To be EAW employment must be of indefinite duration most common type of employment indefinite duration as long as you do a good job as long as we stay in business for life etc definite duration for 1 year for the summer until the next election etc Football coach Paul Pasqualoni fired by UConn with 2 more years on his contract Although fired UConn must still honor his contract buyout of 750 000 Exceptions Under U S common law and unless his contracts states otherwise an employee can be fired for NO cause but can t be fired for the following causes Statutory Exceptions NLRA can t be fired for union activities Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Discrimination race color religion sex national origin Pregnancy and parenthood ADEA age ADA disability Whistleblower protection limited to specific statutory definitions Whistleblowers Somebody who discloses illegal not unethical behavior on the part of the employer limited to specific statutory definitions and often narrowly interpreted Violations of