Labor and Employment Law
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Description
As a generalization—and certainly in comparison to the laws of other industrialized nations—the employment relationship is not pervasively regulated in the United States, even to this day. Absent a specific statute or express contract, employment in the United States is considered 'at will'; both the employee and employer are free to terminate the relationship with or without cause. The theory behind the 'at will' rule is that reliance on market forces will best serve the joint interests of employers and workers. Employers, it is argued, face lower costs in hiring workers because they can easily terminate the relationship if it proves unsatisfactory. Workers also benefit from a system which allows them to quit at any time. An unfair employer will not succeed in retaining able workers and will have trouble recruiting new ones. Such an employer also must deal with the threat that workers dissatisfied with their conditions will form trade unions. (As discussed in section IV below, United States law protects the rights of workers to form independent trade unions and engage in collective bargaining with their employers.)
Source Publication
Fundamentals of American Law
Source Editors/Authors
Alan B. Morrison
Publication Date
1996
Recommended Citation
Estreicher, Samuel, "Labor and Employment Law" (1996). Faculty Chapters. 473.
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/fac-chapt/473
