Employment-At-Will Doctrine: Law, Ethics And Corporate Governance

Employment-at-Will Doctrine
John Simpson
Professor Steve Harris
Law, Ethics and Corporate Governance
November 6, 2014

1. Summarize the employment-at-will doctrine discussed in the text and then evaluate three (3) of the six (6) scenarios described by determining:
a. Whether you can legally fire the employee; include an assessment of any pertinent exceptions to the employment-at-will doctrine.
b. The primary action(s) that you should take to limit liability and impact on operations; specify the ethical theory that best supports your decision.
The employment-at-will doctrine reflected the belief that people should be free to enter into employment contracts for a specified length of time, but that no there would be no obligations
Under the employment-at-will doctrine, there are certain protected activities that should be reviewed to determine if John should/should not be terminated (Halbert & Ingulli, Law and Ethics in the Business Environment, 2012). In this particular situation, John decided to publicly criticize the most important customer of the company. Since employees represent the company, his actions might suggest to the public that his opinions are the overall opinions of the company. What he said should be evaluated to determine if he was venting or if he was trying to improve on something. Any content created in an outburst reflects upon the company. Based on the utilitarianism ethics theory, in a situation where there are many stakeholders involved, an evaluation of the consequences, both good and bad, must be done. The decision has to be made for the overall wellbeing of the entire company both internally and externally. The impact of John’s statements outweighs the good in this situation. Based on the National Labor Relations Act, John’s actions were made on his own behalf and not as a group (Rubin & Stait, 2011). Since this is a private company he can be recommended for termination. To alleviate any further incidences and to guarantee all employees are aligned with the code of ethics and standard of conduct of the company, the company should implement a new policy,
Since she has always gotten outstanding reviews in the past a meeting needs to be setup to discuss the issue. Termination should not be granted due it being prevented under the employment-at-will exception of public policy (NCSL, 2014). It is against the law to falsify any document. The theory that supports this is the Utilitarianism theory as there are way too many consequences to deal with if she is terminated. Holding a formal investigation internally of the supervisor’s actions may uncover that there are other wrongful acts that could have a negative impact on the company. They should implement some type of a program that trains employees and management on the standards which the organization governs itself. Having refresher training every year is also a way to maintain that everyone is complying with company policy.
2. Examine your state’s policy on employment-at-will. Analyze at least one (1) real-world example of an employee or employer utilizing your state’s employment-at-will doctrine in the last five (5) years. Include a summary of the main issue and the outcome in the identified real-world