Abstract
The debate [between the at-will employment rule and termination for just cause] has been raging for years, but it is not the primary purpose of this Article to rehash the debate over the value of employment at-will. Instead of taking sides, I find fault with both at-will employment and the just cause standard. Accordingly, the main purpose of this Article is to provide the perfect compromise between at-will employment and the just cause standard.
Under this proposed statute (which I have named the "Employment Termination Equity Act (ETEA)"), employers would be free to terminate without the burden of proving just cause, allowing them to get rid of unproductive or poorly performing employees with limited risk of litigation. However, certain enumerated reasons for termination would be unlawful. In determining which termination decisions are egregious enough to prohibit, my goal was two-fold: (1) to prohibit termination decisions that have previously been unremedied despite the morass of exceptions to at-will employment and (2) to provide some overlap protection with current statutes by using a procedural process that will be more easily accessible by employees. Yet, in the true spirit of compromise, the ETEA will provide fewer types of remedies than employment discrimination statutes and will force plaintiffs to choose between suit under the ETEA and other statutory remedies.
This abstract has been adapted from the author's introduction.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2008
Publication Information
87 Nebraska Law Review 62-124 (2008)
Repository Citation
Porter, Nicole B., "The Perfect Compromise: Bridging the Gap Between At-Will Employment and Just Cause" (2008). Faculty Publications. 2208.
https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/2208