Eaw Essay

Robillard J.R-Midterm

Question 1

A view of EAW

The EAW is a doctrine of the common law that gives the right to employers to discharge their employees for any reason, good or bad. Employees can be fired for good, bad, or no cause at all, as long as that termination didn’t violate any law or public policy. The employment at will gives enormous power to the employers to fire, to demote, and to transfer employees.

Epstein’s arguments

According to Richard A. Epstein (1994), the employment-at-will works for the mutual benefit of the employers and employees. He continues to mention that the position of employees and employers are even. Both employees and employers benefit from the employment at will. The firm must maintain the employment at will to face the following situations: employee theft, misuse of firm equipment, employee kickback, and criminal misconduct.

Epstein advance several arguments in favor of employment at will. It favors the right of association and decreases the cost of hiring and firing.

According to some critics, the employee loyalty is primary to the public interest. However, Duska thinks the public interest is primary to the employee loyalty. When the job is ethically sound and the employee loyalty is clearly understood, whistle-blowing doesn’t represent any threat to employee’s loyalty to employer. Being a whistle-blower doesn’t denature the loyalty of the employee to the company. Employee may act in the best interest to save and protect the company against future moral hazard.

A company that is ethically sound doesn’t have any whistle-blowing concern. A company that is doing the right thing to protect the community and the public interest has in return the loyalty of its employee. The duty of loyalty must be a win-win situation for employer, employee, and the public. Managers must keep their employees satisfied in order to achieve loyalty.

Question