Employment-at-Will: Shedding Light on Some Misconceptions

Most states presume that employment relationships are at-will. Employment-at-will allows for either the employer or employee to terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any reason (other an illegal one) or no reason. Yet employers and employees alike seem to harbor many misperceptions about this basic building block of employment law, perhaps causing needless suffering on both sides.

If most states presume that employment is at-will, then why do there seem to be so many wrongful discharge cases in court? If an employer hires an employee at-will can she or he really terminate the employee without incurring legal liability? Can an employer’s actions rebut the presumption of employment-at-will? If so, when and how? Does a written contract automatically rebut that presumption? Are there any exceptions to this doctrine? If so, what are they? What if any impact do anti-discrimination wage and hour, and family and medical leave and other laws have on employment-at-will? How does an employer preserve at-will status? Can employment-at-will ever work to an employer’s disadvantage?
What about the position recently taken by the NLRB? Can the NLRB effectively nullify a concept that has been the cornerstone of American employment law from Day One? Is this basic building block of employment law in danger?

This presentation will aim to address these and other questions and myths regarding employment at will. Business owners and manager alike, and all who hire or supervises employees cannot afford to miss this webinar for pointers on this fundamental area of employment law.

HR professtionals, managers, business owners, legal professionals

1. The fundamentals of employment-at-will. 2. How written contracts and employee handbooks can alter employment-at-will status. 3. How to preserve at-will status. 4. Legal limitations on employment-at-will, and on the employer's ability to terminate an emplolyee. 5. Overview of the National Labor Relations Board's position on employment-at-will clauses in employee handbooks and what employers can do to ensure their at-will provisions withstand NLRB scrutiny.

"The At-Will Presumption and Exceptions to the Rule" http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/labor/at-will-employment-overview.aspx Muhl, Charles "The Employment-at-Will Doctrine:Three Major Exceptions" Monthly Labor Review, January 2001, pp 3-11

		Janette Levey Frisch Joule, Inc. View Profile