Chapter 23

Question 1

Employment-at-will

Answer 1

-states that an employer can dismiss an employee at any time for any reason.
-allows both parties to end an unsatisfactory relationship or take advantage of new opportunities.
-the rule that says that an employer can discharge an employee at any time for any reason or for no reason is also limited by civil rights legislation

Question 2

Collective bargaining agreement (Contractual Exception)

Answer 2

a contract negotiated by the employer and the labor union that covers all issues related to employment

Question 3

Grievance procedure (Contractual Exception)

Answer 3

employees have the right to appeal any employer’s decision that they think violates just cause

Question 4

Wrongful discharge

Answer 4

-gives employees legal grounds for a lawsuit against employers who have dismissed them unfairly.
- also referred to as unjust dismissal

Question 5

Promissory Estoppel

Answer 5

the employee must demonstrate that the employer promised the employee job security despite the apparent at-will nature of the
employment relationship

Question 6

Implied contract

Answer 6

involves an employment relationship that would have been at-will, had the employer not said, done, written, or printed something that created a workplace environment that implies the existence of a contract

Question 7

Constructive discharge

Answer 7

Employers engage in conduct that adversely affects the employee’s working
conditions without actually terminating the employment relationship itself.
-Whistleblower cases
-Thus, the employee continues to come to work and to draw a paycheck, but in conditions that slowly deteriorate, making the situation at work and on the job
unbearably difficult for that employee

Question 8

Examples of Constructive Discharge

Answer 8

the employee may be relocated to less than desirable jobs at the
workplace:
* be denied raises,
* be deprived of continuing educational opportunities,
* lose seniority,
* be stripped of promotions,
* lose vacation time, or
* be reassigned to difficult and inconvenient hours

Question 9

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (Tort Law)

Answer 9

An employee may attempt to recover damages if the conduct of the employer in the discharge of the employee caused serious mental
and emotional suffering

Question 10

What must the Plaintiff prove for IIED?

Answer 10

The plaintiff must prove that:
-The employer’s conduct was extreme
-The employer knew the conduct was extreme and would result in
emotional distress
-The conduct was the proximate cause of serious mental and
emotional suffering