Section 20.1

1. Section 20.1

2. Chapter Employment Law 20 Section 20.1 Employment Relationships Section 20.2 Legislation Affecting Employment

3. What You’ll Learn • How to define employment-at-will (p. 434) • How to identify those situations that fall outside of the doctrine of employment-at-will (p. 434)

4. What You’ll Learn • How to identify the exceptions to employment-at-will (p. 436) • How to distinguish between implied contract and implied covenant • (pp. 438 & 441)

5. Why It’s Important Understanding the nature of at-will employment will help you determine whether your rights have been violated if you are discharged by an employer.

6. Legal Terms • employment-at-will (p. 434) • union (p. 434) • collective bargaining agreement (p. 434) • grievance procedure (p. 435) • severance pay (p. 435)

7. Legal Terms • promissory estoppel (p. 437) • implied contract (p. 438) • disclaimer (p. 439) • public policy tort (p. 440) • implied covenant (p. 441)

8. Section Outline Employment-at-Will Unionized Employees Collective Bargaining Agreements Layoffs and Plant Closings Illegal Discrimination Rights and Duties of Employers and Employees

9. Section Outline Exceptions to Employment-at-Will Wrongful Discharge

10. Pre-Learning Question What do you think employment-at-will is?

11. Employment-at-Will The doctrine known as employment-at-will is the general rule governing employment in most states.

12. Employment-at-Will According to this doctrine, an employer is permitted to discharge an employee at any time, for any or no reason, with or without notice.

13. Employment-at-Will This doctrine is based on the idea that both parties in an employment relationship must be free to leave the employment arrangement at any time.

14. Employment-at-Will If employees were not free to leave an employment relationship at any time, then they would actually be slaves.

15. Pre-Learning Question Do you know anyone who belongs to a labor union?

16. Unionized Employees The doctrine of employment-at-will does not apply to employees who are protected by a union.

17. Unionized Employees A union is an organization of employees that is formed to promote the welfare of its members.

18. Unionized Employees Union members have hiring and firing procedures built into their collective bargaining agreements, contracts negotiated by the employer and representatives of the labor union that cover issues related to employment.

19. Collective Bargaining Agreements A collective bargaining session generally concerns issues such as • Working conditions • Wages • Benefits

20. Collective Bargaining Agreements • Job security • Layoffs • Firing policies

21. Collective Bargaining Agreements Collective bargaining agreements generally include the steps that must be followed in a grievance procedure.

22. Collective Bargaining Agreements A grievance procedure establishes a series of steps that an employee must follow to appeal the decision of an employer who may have violated the collective bargaining agreement.

23. Layoffs and Plant Closings Collective bargaining agreements do not guarantee that employees will have a job for life. Sometimes, economic conditions force layoffs or plant closings.

24. Layoffs and Plant Closings A collective bargaining agreement may also provide for severance pay, which is a set amount of money to compensate employees for being discharged and to help them through the time that they remain unemployed.

25. Illegal Discrimination Even employees not covered by a collective bargaining agreement cannot be discharged for a reason that is discriminatory in nature.

26. Illegal Discrimination According to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a discharge is discriminatory if it occurs because of a person’s race, color, creed, national origin, or gender.

27. Illegal Discrimination Similarly, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects people from being discharged because of their age.

28. Rights and Duties of Employers and Employees Employers and employees have certain mutual expectations in their working relationships.

29. 20.1 Rights and Duties of Employers and Employees Rights Duties To expect employees: To provide: Employers • To have the experience, education, and skills they claim to possess • To provide a reasonable amount of work within a reasonable amount of time • Regular pay • A safe work environment • Appropriate job training • Opportunities to earn raises and promotions • Safe tools To tell employees: • What tasks to perform • How to perform them

30. 20.1 Rights and Duties of Employers and Employees Rights Duties To be: Employees To be able to make reasonable complaints. • Loyal • Honest • Dependable To abide by employer’s rules.

31. Name three things employers can expect from their employees.

32. ANSWER Any three of the following: to have the experience, education, and skills that they claim to have; to perform a reasonable amount of work in a reasonable amount of time;

33. ANSWER to be loyal, honest, and dependable; and to abide by the employer’s rules.

34. Name three things employees can expect from their employers.

35. ANSWER Any three of the following: to provide regular pay; a safe work environment; appropriate job training; opportunities to earn raises and promotions; and safe tools.

36. ANSWER Employees can also expect to be able to make reasonable complaints.

37. Pre-Learning Question When do you think the courts make exceptions to the employment-at-will doctrine?

38. Exceptions to Employment-at-Will Recall that the employment-at-will doctrine states that an employer is permitted to discharge an employee at any time, for any or no reason, and with or without notice.

39. Exceptions to Employment-at-Will Sometimes terminating an employment contract under the doctrine of employment-at-will will result in injustices, and courts will challenge the doctrine by ruling against the wrongful discharge.

40. Wrongful Discharge Wrongful discharge, or unjust dismissal, provides employees with grounds for legal action against employers who have treated them unfairly.

41. Wrongful Discharge The courts have established five standards it will consider regarding unjust termination. • Promissory estoppel • Implied contract • Public policy tort

42. Wrongful Discharge • Intentional infliction of emotional distress • Implied covenant

43. Promissory Estoppel Promissory estoppel has been used by some courts as proper grounds for unjust dismissal lawsuits. However, four elements must be proven.

44. Four Elements of Promissory Estoppel • The employer makes a promise to an employee that the employer can reasonably expect the employee to rely upon.

45. Four Elements of Promissory Estoppel • The employee actually relies upon that promise, and as a result, does or doesn’t do something.

46. Four Elements of Promissory Estoppel • The employee ordinarily would not have acted or refrained from acting had it not been for the employer’s promise.

47. Four Elements of Promissory Estoppel • The employee is in some way harmed by the employer’s failure to honor the promise.

48. Implied Contract The implied contract exception arises when an employer has said, written, or done something to lead the employee to reasonably believe that he or she is not an at-will employee.

49. Implied Contract Most federal and state courts that have recognized that the implied contract exception will still allow employers to maintain an employment-at-will arrangement by using a disclaimer.

50. Implied Contract A disclaimer is a statement that holds that, regardless of any provisions, policies, or oral promises to the contrary, an employment-at-will situation still exists between the employer and its employees.