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CHAPTERASSESSMENTSection 20.1 Employment Relationships● Employment-at-will is the general rule governingemployment in most states. According to thedoctrine of employment-at-will, an employer ispermitted to discharge an employee at any time,for any or no reason, with or without notice. Thisdoctrine is based on the notion that both parties inan employment relationship must be free to leavethe employment relationship at any time.● The doctrine of employment-at-will does notapply to employees who are protected by aunion. A union is an organization of employeesthat is formed to promote the welfare of itsmembers. In addition, an employer cannotinvoke the doctrine of employment-at-will todischarge an employee for a reason that isdiscriminatory in nature. It is unlawful todiscriminate against employees because of theirage, race, color, creed, national origin, or gender.● Exceptions to employment-at-will includewrongful discharge. Wrongful discharge, alsocalled unjust dismissal, provides employees withgrounds for legal action against employers whohave treated them unfairly. The courts haveestablished five standards it will considerregarding an unjust termination: promissoryestoppel, implied contract, public policy tort,intentional infliction of emotional distress, andimplied covenant.● When an employer does something to lead anemployee to reasonably believe that he or she isnot an at-will employee, an implied contract iscreated. All employment relationships are basedon an implied covenant that the employer andemployee will be fair and honest with one another.Section 20.2 Legislation AffectingEmployment● The first federal law addressing collectivebargaining, the National Labor Relations Act of●●●1935, also called the Wagner Act, states thatemployers must include wages, hours, and conditionsof employment in the collective bargainingprocess. Business decisions that are at the veryheart of an executive’s ability to control acompany, such as decisions on how to investcorporate funds, would be outside the scope ofcollective bargaining.The objective of the Taft-Hartley Act was toequalize the power of labor and management.It provides, among other things, for a 60-day“cooling off ” period, which the President of theUnited States could invoke to postpone a strikefor up to 60 days under special circumstances.The act also made it illegal to have a closed shop,which requires a person to be a union memberto be considered for hiring. In contrast, a unionshop, or a business in which a worker must jointhe union within 30 days after being employed, isallowed under the act. The act also allows statesto pass right-to-work laws, and preventsfeatherbedding.The primary goal of the Landrum-Griffin Act wasto stop corruption in the unions by mandating,among other things, that all unions must registertheir constitutions and bylaws with the Secretaryof Labor. Under the Landrum-Griffin Act, unionsare also required to submit yearly reports on theirfinancial condition. These reports must includeassets, liabilities, receipts, sources of revenue,loans to union members, and other money paidout of the union’s treasury.Child labor laws control the work that childrenare permitted to do. They specify certain types ofactivities that cannot be performed by minors onthe job. Federal child labor laws prohibit shipmentof goods produced in factories in which“oppressive child labor” had been used.448 Unit 4: Being an Agent and Getting a Job