Of course, there is one state in the U.S. that is no longer pure "Employment-At-Will." Its one of those great test questions for students in Business Employment Law Class. The state is Montana, which requires "just cause" for any termination. See: Montana Wrongful Discharge From Employment Act of 1987,
Montana Code Ann. 39-2-901. I am told there are similar laws in Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands which are, of course, not states. All of these are certainly very small labor markets and its been a long time since I looked back to see how they are working. These laws are quite mild compared to what our colleagues have referenced with the labor laws in Europe and elsewhere.
Henry
Henry Lowenstein, PhD
Professor of Management and Law
E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration
Coastal Carolina University
P.O. Box 261954
Conway, SC 29528-6054 USA
(843) 349-2827 Office
(843) 349-2455 Fax
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www.coastal.edu
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From: Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB) Talk [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Michael O'Hara [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, November 11, 2011 11:11 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: "Unemployment Insurance and Job Search in the Great Recession"
ALSBTALK:
Oh, OK, that makes sense.
Given the USA Constitution's Amendment XIII as a basis for at-will I strongly suspect that minor whittling rather than major hacking is the maximum reduction of at-will.
Amd. XIII reads, in total, as follows.
"Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
"Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."
And, when that whittling occurs (e.g., whistleblowing as an extension of the pre-Amendment criminal prohibition on aiding and abetting) the absolute power to terminate will not be affected, but rather the scope of the privilege to terminate without owning damages will be contracted.
Accordingly, I would forecast a strengthening of at-will with an onset of national health care since the employer's opportunity to apply economic pressure to the employer beyond that which is proportional to the employer's rights and privileges, necessarily, would be reduced. Reduced duress ought mean more at-will.
Michael
Professor Michael J. O'Hara, J.D., Ph.D.
Finance, Banking, & Law Department
College of Business Administration
Mammel Hall 228
University of Nebraska at Omaha
6708 Pine Street
Omaha NE 68182-0048
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(402) 554 - 2823 voice fax (402) 554 - 2680
http://cba.unomaha.edu/faculty/mohara/web/ohara.htm
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