Final answer:
Employer assurance of job security can constitute an implied contract, which along with statutes like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, protect employees from unjust termination based on discriminatory factors such as sex, race, and other characteristics.
Step-by-step explanation:
Employer actions that demonstrate intent to protect employees from unjust termination may create protection under what is typically referred to as implied contracts or under statutes designed to prevent employment discrimination.
When employers take steps to assure employees that their job positions are secure as long as they perform satisfactorily, they may be creating an implied contract, even in the absence of a written statement. This is especially true when employee handbooks or other company policies outline specific disciplinary procedures or promise job security.
Moreover, statutes like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 play a critical role in providing a legal framework for protecting employees against discrimination and unjust termination based on sex, race, national origin, age, religion, or disability.
This Act makes it illegal to terminate or otherwise discriminate against an employee or job applicant on the basis of these protected characteristics. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 further extended these protections to include pregnancy as a protected characteristic.
The significance of these legal provisions is that they restore and ensure protection for employees from unlawful employment practices, thereby offering recourse in cases where an employee believes they have been subjected to pay discrimination or unjust termination on any of the mentioned grounds.