Employee Rights

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how current debates over employee rights raise numerous questions that affect nearly every facet of our society. In particular, the paper looks at how a major argument against the "At Will" doctrine centers on the sheer arbitrariness of such a concept and how the "At Will" doctrine is exactly what it says - the idea that an employer may terminate an employee's employment "at will." The paper discusses whether the "At Will" doctrine should be abolished, or whether the doctrine remains the best answer to current as well as prior economic realities. Also debated by the paper is whether gross abuses by many in private industry justify the alteration of a system that has existed for centuries.

From the Paper:

"On the level of basic American values, those embodied in the United States Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and other documents, Employment at Will would seem to speak to larger social and culturally concerns. Equity is essentially about fair treatment, beliefs that, in the case of employment, have been further enshrined in the National Labor Relations Act of 1934 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The first act lays out the rules for collective bargaining, while the second prohibits discrimination in hiring on the basis of race, sex, religion, or national origin. Each of these enactments represents a clear attempt to use the law to ensure fair treatment in the workplace. Thus, the traditional common law notion of the employer's absolute control over the working environment, and the supposed non-interference inherent in "At Will," is broken. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Epstein, Richard A. "In Defense of the Contract at Will." University of Chicago Law Review 34. 1984.
• Werhane, Patricia J. and Radin, Tara J. "Employment at Will and Due Process." Ethical Treatment of Employees, 266. 1995.

More papers on Employee Rights:

• Analytical Essay # 9806 : "Employee Rights in the Workplace"
• Article Review # 40257 : "The Inherent Ethics of the Marketplace and Employee Rights"
• Analytical Essay # 134544 : "Employer Surveillance vs. Employee Privacy"

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