“At will” employment simply means that an employer may terminate an employee for any reason. In many states this is the legal relationship between employers and employees unless there is a contractual relationship between them that states to the contrary. It is difficult in the employer – employee legal relationship that states have different laws. But there is another issue, that of the balance with employer – employee relationships.
Most employers will initially prefer to have employees in an at will employment status. In these companies employee manuals will state that nothing in the paperwork of employment, including the employee manual will be deemed to constitute an employment contract defeating at will status.
It is difficult for a certain type of employee to negotiate an employment contract to defeat an employment at will status. If this employee without leverage is not protected by other legal provisions regarding notice, separation pay and insurance rights, employees will be greatly disadvantaged and treated unfairly. On the other hand, employers need to be able to terminate employees for business reasons (treating them fairly) without facing litigation on every termination.
With the current legal scenario, the best practical advice for an employee with leverage is to negotiate and execute a written employment agreement that provides the appropriate terms of employment, both as to its conduct and termination.
Employers should look carefully at each employment level to determine where an employment contract may help improve employee relationship. The default should be at will status for employees where it is available under applicable state law.
By: Rick Riebesell
Posts Tagged ‘Paperwork’
At Will Employment
February 7th, 20102009 Job Summit PR Show Considered
October 1st, 2009
Our leadership Washington DC has finally decided it’s time to have a jobs summit, and even our young president has stated; “there seems to be a huge consensus that we must do everything we can to create jobs for America immediately.” This is absolutely farcical, and nothing more than a statement of the obvious. America has been screaming for jobs since before President Obama was elected. Everyone, including the Obama administration knows that America needs jobs, so what has been the problem?
The stimulus package put forth did not create the jobs as it had promised, and the reality is that a government can’t create jobs, only the private sector can. When the government tries to create jobs and grows the bureaucracy that only decreases jobs in the private sector because as the bureaucracy grows it creates more barriers, regulations, and paperwork for free enterprise businesses.
Therefore, those businesses cannot operate efficiently, and thus, they don’t. Inefficient businesses do not make a profit, therefore, they cannot expand as fast, so they don’t need as much labor. This is all economics 101.
Unfortunately, our president is a lawyer, and a top graduate from one of the finest universities in the nation and their law school. Since he’s never run a business, he perhaps doesn’t understand, but that’s absolutely no excuse because he is the president of the United States of America, the greatest nation ever created in the history of mankind, and a capitalist one. So there can be no excuse.
Is the Obama Administration’s recent declaration mean they will actually now do something to provide jobs for America, or focus intently on creating employment in our country? And how do we know that the things they do, or the initiatives they put in place will actually help? The economy may just perform nicely and recover even if they all went on vacation, are they really needed?
Nothing they’ve done by announcing their intent to work on the jobs problem helps America accomplish the goals and objectives to creating more jobs. Actually, most of the promises that president Obama has previously made, haven’t come to fruition either. The quote about the jobs summit is honestly very good for TV media, but as President Obama has lost his credibility, it just looks like more PR and fluff. Don’t tell us, show us!
By: Lance Winslow
