immense flexibility for the employee.
Response 1
The employment-at-will doctrine avows that, when an employee does not have a written employment contract and the term of employment is of indefinite duration, the employer can terminate the employee for good cause, bad cause, or no cause at all (Shane and Rosenthal, 1999). This type of arrangement offers immense flexibility for the employee. That was especially important in times when relocating for more plentiful food or work
immense flexibility for the employee.opportunities was common. However, this arrangement doesn’t offer job security. That’s become more important as fewer families have migrant workers.
Employment-at-will arrangements still exist. Many hourly and certainly many minimum wage employees are at-will employees. In fact, all employees are presumed to be at-will-employees unless the employee has a legally binding agreement with the employer that the employee can only be fired for good cause.
The U.S. legal system eventually introduced federal and state laws that limited both the use and scope of at-will employment. These laws placed restrictions on when employers can legally terminate at-will employees. One example is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from firing employees because of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Another example is the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which governs health and safety in the workplace and prohibits employers from retaliating against employees that report violations.
Many employers like the option of ending an employee working relationship without cause or reason. Because the employer doesn’t necessarily have to offer up a reason for the termination, it often makes it easier to get rid of difficult employees and avoid employee lawsuits.
Just as the employer can terminate the working relationship without cause, so can the employee—meaning they can basically quit anytime they wish. In a workforce full of worries about job stability, employees may jump from job to job in hopes of finding the right career path or company that offers exactly what they want—this can mean large employee turnover.
An amendment to this doctrine will be the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. This requirement is much more broad and reads a requirement of good faith and fair dealing into every employment relationship. The result of this exception is that any firing must be for good cause and the ability to fire employees is strictly limited. However, only eleven states have recognized this exception. Getting more states to recognize this exception would be beneficial to workers.
Certain laws overrule the at-will doctrine such as the public exception—meaning no employer can ask any employee to do something illegal; protection for the employee from firing for race, age, sex, nationality or religion; and protection for the employee under the Family Medical Leave Act. An employer may also face challenges of terminating an employee that is out on a work-related injury and receiving workman’s compensation benefits.
References
The Basics of At Will Employment (Melton &Kumler, LLP) retrieved at http://www.austinemploymentattorney.com/article-the-basics-of-at-will-employment.aspx
http://www.brighthub.com/office/human-resources/articles/104220.aspx
Shane and Rosenthal, Employment Law Deskbook , § 16.02 (1999).Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2001/01/art1full.pdf
http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/exceptions-to-the-at-will-rule.html#sthash.JWABYp2c.dpuf
response 2
Many health facilities, including most of those located in Southern states, employ the at-will doctrine. This doctrine allows an employee or employer to terminate the employment relationship at any time for any reason, or no reason at all (Kinard&Kinard, 2006). This means that these health organizations have the freedom to fire any employee for no cause, as long as it does not pertain to any legally protected areas, such as race, religion, nationality, gender, age, disability, whistleblowers, or any act of retaliation, among others. This allows employers to strengthen their workforce by eliminating individuals who are a poor fit. Employers are also able to adjust their cost mix to save the company money as they see fit. However, high staff turn-over could hurt a health facility through ‘brain drain’, and recurring costs of training, among others.
Employees are equally able to walk away from a job without reason and advance notice under at-will employment. This allows the employee to take advantage of better job and salary offers, and attend to family and other situations that may pull them away from work. Furthermore, as opposed to contract employee, the employee may owe the employer much less. On the other hand, when the employee is fired, this could be detrimental to his or her financial well-being and family. In addition, because at will employers tend to have higher turn-over rates, this could hurt the employee’s resume and potential to secure future jobs.
It is interesting, however that the at-will doctrine is slowly eroding with the enactment of federal and state legislation that gives workers job protection (Kinard&Kinard, 2006). Federally protected categories mean that an employer would need to consider defense if an employee claims violation of any of these categories. While, in most states, employment cannot be terminated because an employee filed workers’ compensation claim after being injured on the job, nor for an employee refusing to break the law at the request of the employer (Allen, 2001).
I believe that an amendment to the at-will doctrine should be to require ‘good cause’ for the termination of employees whom have fulfilled their probationary period, as is done in the state of Montana. This will give workers greater protection.
As much as I want maximum protection for health workers, I am not sure if unions are the best option. Because of the criticality of the work of the health worker in saving lives, union negotiations that disrupt work should be avoided. Can you imagine the physicians and nurses in an ER Department going on strike! Maybe additional state and federal regulations, including additional exceptions to the at-will doctrine, may be the best option for securing better working conditions and benefits for health workers.
References
Kinard, J. &Kinard, BR. (2006). Employment-at-Will: guidelines for health care managers. Health Care Manag (Frederick). 25(4), 306-9.Retreived from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17202954
Allen, L. (2001). The employment-at-will doctrine: three major exceptions. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2001/01/art1full.pdf
Professor question
I must say I have never seen at will hiring contract until I started teaching a few years ago. Maybe when I was in college, I never paid attention to many of the low wage jobs I did for such language. I am not in favor of at-will employment on either side of the aisle. I do not believe employees should simply walk off their jobs nor is it right for employers to simply walk up to their employees and tell them their services are no longer required. If I depend on at will employment for a living, I am not sure I could effectively plan. I think there should be at least notice of employment termination or resignation.
Class, what are your thoughts?
Response 3
The at-will employment doctrine is an work arrangement in which employee can quit at any time for any reason without giving any prior notice and employer can terminate employee at any time for any reason. The pros and cons of at will doctrine are:
The pros:
1. It provides flexibility to employee to find a better job
2. Employees can be promoted based on merit. Instead of promoted employees on base of seniority, at will employees promoted on basis of their action.
3. No need to negotiate work contracts
4. Striking, hold outs and other issue are void
The cons of at-will:
1. It is lot easier to hire low and fire quick
2. Employers can fire employees for any reason; there is no justification for that
3. No ways for employees to modify working practices and environment
4. Laws are regularly evolving of at-will
The U.S legal system introduced various federal and state law that limited use and scope of this doctrine. One of the law which prohibits employers from firing on basis of colour, race, religion and sex. Fundamental rights of employee should be protected which does not affect their ability to perform their job. Employer have a reasonable, good faith based and fact based action should be counted for firing. If a employee will not be in good health or have serious problem under such conditions employer cannot fire until the situation is being normal. Employer even helps them financially to afford their medical expenses. Employment period should be fixed under at-will, after a certain long term employment, an employer should not fire an employee to avoid retirement expenses and benefits.
https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2001/01/art1full.pdf
http://www.law.uh.edu/faculty/gmoohr/spring2014/Woolley.pdf
response 4
f you are employed at will, your employer does not need good cause to fire you. An at-will employee can be fired at any time. To protect their right to fire at will, many employers ask job applicants and new employees to sign a written statement agreeing that they are (or will be) employed at will. At-will employment has grown increasingly more popular over time. However, employees are protected by the state and federal jurisdiction for possible reasons of termination. “These can include race, religion, citizenship, retaliation for performing a legally protected action, whistleblowing, disability, gender, age, physical health, sexual orientation, and other factors protected by labor laws “ (Doyle,2016).
The strength of the doctrine is that it allows employees the flexibility to find a better job. Employee’s skills and experience increase resulting in them being more marketable for other businesses. Also, instead of being forced to promote employees based on seniority or other negotiated rules, at will employees can be promoted because of the merits of their action. Employees have the upper hand since they can request a raise at any time if a better opportunity comes along. The weakness to this doctrine is the job security. Employees can be terminated at any time and then be responsible for bills, responsibilities, mortgages and other debts, etc. A sudden termination can lead to a great loss for many people. “Over the years, courts have carved out exceptions to the at-will presumption to mitigate its sometimes harsh consequences. The three major common law exceptions are public policy, implied contract, and implied covenant of good faith.” (NCSL,nd)
I believe Unions in a healthcare setting provide a voice against the management of the health care provider. If a union campaign is occurring, it attracts considerable attention. The process is time-consuming and usually creates tension among employees and can hurt the hospital and the system. If a union were to strike it has to be well thought out and justified. A union may also destroy the close relationship with employees and potentially undermine the quality the hospital’s services. I believe a strong executives are needed that have extensive experience in working or negotiating with unions.
References
Doyle, A. (2016, October). What Does Employment at Will Mean? Retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/what-does-employment-at-will-mean-2060493
Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/at-will-employment-overview.aspx
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