Employment Law Sources
A common law doctrine under which either party may terminate an employment relationship at any time for any reason, unless a contract specifies otherwise.
Employment at Will
Exceptions to the Employment-at-Will Doctrine
Implied Contracts- If any employee is fired outside the terms of the implied contract, he or she may succeed in an action for breach of contract even though no written employment contract exists.
Exceptions Based on Contract Theory
Exceptions Based on Tort Theory
The most common exception- made on the basis that the worker was fired for reasons that violate a fundamental public policy of the jurisdiction. Public policy involved must be expressed clearly in the jurisdiction’s statutory law.
Exceptions Based on Public Policy
An employee’s disclosure to government authorities, upper level managers, or the media that the employer is engaged in unsafe or illegal activities.
Whistleblowing
An employer’s termination of an employee’s employment in violation of the law or an employment contract.
Wrongful Discharge
Wages, Hours, Layoffs, and Leave
Requires contractors and subcontractors working on federal government contruction projects to pay “prevailing wages” to their employees.
The Davis-Bacon Act
Applies to U.S. government contracts. It requires that a minimum wage, as well as overtime pay 1.5 times regular pay rates, be paid to employees of manufacturers or suppliers entering into contracts with agencies of the federal government.
The Walsh-Healey Act
Extended wage-hour requirements to cover all employers engaged in interstate commerce or in producing goods for interstate commerce, plus selected other types of businesses. As amended, provides the most comprehensive federal regulation of wages and hours today.
The Fair Labor Standards Act
Gives workers advance notice of layoffs.
Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act
Gives employees a right to take time off work for family and medical reasons.
Family and Medical Leave Act
FLSA prohibits oppressive child labor. Children under 14 years of age are allowed to do certain types of work, such as deliver newspapers, work for their parents, and be employed in entertainment and (with some exceptions) agriculture.
Child Labor
The lowest wage, either by government regulation or union contract, that an employer may pay an hourly worker.
Minimum Wage
Minimum wage must be paid to employees in covered industries.
Minimum Wage Requirement
Overtime Exemptions
Those whose primary duty is management and who exercise discretion and independent judgement.
Administrative and Executive Employees
Requires large employers to provide 60 days notice before implementing a mass layoff or closing a plant that employs more than 50 full-time workers. Applies to companies that employ at least 100 full-time employees.
Layoffs- The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)
Allows employees to take time off from work for family or medical reasons. Additional categories for military caregivers and for qualifying emergencies that arise due to military service.
Family and Medical Leave- The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Reasons for Leave Allowed
Benefits and Protections- FMLA Leave
Remedies to Violations- FMLA