Employment Relationships

1
Section 20.1
2
Chapter
Employment Law
20
Section 20.1 Employment Relationships Section
20.2 Legislation Affecting Employment
3
What Youll 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 Youll 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 Its 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 persons 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 employers 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 employers 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.

1. Promissory estoppel
2. Implied contract
3. Public policy tort

42
Wrongful Discharge

1. Intentional infliction of emotional distress
2. 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

1. 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

1. The employee actually relies upon that promise,
   and as a result, does or doesnt do something.

46
Four Elements of Promissory Estoppel

1. The employee ordinarily would not have acted or
   refrained from acting had it not been for the
   employers promise.

47
Four Elements of Promissory Estoppel

1. The employee is in some way harmed by the
   employers 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.
51
Public Policy Tort
Many states now permit a fired employee to
recover compensatory and punitive damages in a
public policy tort if he or she can prove the
firing violated public policy.
52
Public Policy Tort
Public policy holds that no one should be allowed
to do anything that tends to hurt the public at
large.
53
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Some courts have permitted discharged employees
to bring a tort lawsuit against their former
employers for intentional infliction of emotional
distress.
54
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
However, an employers conduct must be extremely
outrageous to qualify as such.
55
Implied Covenant
The implied covenant principle holds that any
employment relationship is based on an implied
promise that the employer and employee will be
fair and honest with one another.
56
Implied Covenant
Unlike implied contract, the existence of an
implied covenant exists simply because the
employment relationship exists.
57
Section 20.1 Assessment
Reviewing What You Learned

1. What is employment-at-will?

58
Section 20.1 Assessment
Reviewing What You Learned
Answer
An employer is permitted to discharge an employee
at any time, for any reason, for no reason, with
or without notice.
59
Section 20.1 Assessment
Reviewing What You Learned

1. What situations fall outside of the doctrine of
   employment-at-will?

60
Section 20.1 Assessment
Reviewing What You Learned
Answer
Employees protected by a union.
61
Section 20.1 Assessment
Reviewing What You Learned

1. What are the exceptions to employment-at-will?

62
Section 20.1 Assessment
Reviewing What You Learned
Answer
Promissory estoppel, implied contract, public
policy tort, intentional infliction of emotional
distress, and implied covenant.
63
Section 20.1 Assessment
Reviewing What You Learned

1. What is the difference between implied contract
   and implied covenant?

64
Section 20.1 Assessment
Reviewing What You Learned
Answer
Implied contract something that an employer
says, writes, or does that leads an employee to
the reasonable belief that the employment
situation is something other than at-will.
65
Section 20.1 Assessment
Reviewing What You Learned
Answer
Implied covenant doctrine that says that
implied within any employment arrangement is the
agreement that employees and employers will treat
each other fairly.
66
Section 20.1 Assessment
Critical Thinking Activity Employment-at-Will
Why have the courts begun to carve out exceptions
to employment-at-will?
67
Section 20.1 Assessment
Critical Thinking Activity Answer Employment-at-Wi
ll
Terminating an employment contract under the
doctrine of employment-at-will has occasionally
resulted in injustices.
68
Section 20.1 Assessment
Critical Thinking Activity Answer Employment-at-Wi
ll
As a result, many courts are challenging the
employment-at-will doctrine with decisions
against firing employees without justification.
69
Section 20.1 Assessment
Legal Skills in Action Employment Rights and
Duties
Your Uncle Ian was recently approached at work by
a representative of a union that is attempting to
organize the workers at his plant. Uncle Ian
believes that as a union member, he will be
guaranteed a job for life.
70
Section 20.1 Assessment
Legal Skills in Action Employment Rights and
Duties
Send an e-mail message to your Uncle Ian
explaining why the union cant guarantee him
lifelong employment.
71
Section 20.1 Assessment
Legal Skills in Action Answer Employment Rights
and Duties
The e-mail to Uncle Ian should include that while
unions may provide collective bargaining
agreements, they do not guarantee that employees
will have a job for life.
72
Section 20.1 Assessment
Legal Skills in Action Answer Employment Rights
and Duties
If economic conditions force layoffs or plant
closings, some or all employees may lose their
jobs.
73
End of Section 20.1