Question

Classify each scenario according to whether it is an example of an active employment at-will doctrine.

a. A tenured organic chemistry professor who cannot be fired despitebeing a horrible teacher.
b. Cathy quits her job as a babysitter despite having only beenhired three weeks ago, because she feels watching over eight toddlersat once will cause her to lose too much sleep.
c. Katherine, a waitress, gets fired from her job after spilling a hot bowlof French onion soup on a customer's shoe.
d. Alex has a clause in his worker's contract stating that if he gets firedduring a recession, he gets a severance package of half his salary paidfor up to six months.
e. Brian, who works for an educational software company, quits. He isnot allowed to work for a competing software company for six monthsdue to a clause in his contract.
f. Wei-Cheng gets fired from his company for no reason other than thathe is the only Asian worker.

Answer 1

Scenarios b and c are examples of at-will employment, while a, d, e, and f are not because they involve contractual obligations, legal protections, or illegal reasons for termination.

Step-by-step explanation:

To classify each scenario according to whether it is an example of an active employment at-will doctrine, one must understand the nature of at-will employment. At-will employment allows employers to dismiss employees for any reason, except illegal ones, without warning, as long as the employment contract does not state otherwise. It also allows employees to quit their jobs without reason or warning.

• a. Not an example of at-will employment because tenure provides protection against being fired without cause.
• b. An example of at-will employment since Cathy quits her job without any legal consequences.
• c. An example of at-will employment because Katherine can be fired for spilling soup, which may be seen as a legitimate cause for termination in an at-will context.
• d. Not an example of pure at-will employment because the presence of a severance package clause indicates the existence of a contract that limits at-will terms.
• e. Not an example of at-will employment because Brian's contract restricts his employment after resignation, indicating a limitation on at-will stipulations.
• f. Not an example of at-will employment, as firing based on race is illegal under anti-discrimination laws, despite the underlying at-will principle allowing for termination for no reason.