Chapter 39: Employment at Will

Identify the three common law exceptions to the employment-at-will doctrine: _______. (Choose three correct answers)

- good faith and fair dealing - public policy - implied contract

The employment-at-will doctrine does not apply in cases where the employee: _______. (Choose all the correct answers)

- has a common law exception - has an express contract

The _______ exception displaces the employment-at-will rule that allows employers to terminate an employee for certain reasons contrary to established policy.

public policy

The _______ exception is a narrowly applied common law rule that places the public welfare ahead of the rights of an employer.

public policy

Antidiscrimination statutes prohibit employment termination based on certain discriminatory motivations such as _______ or _______. (Choose two best answers)

race gender

Employers may terminate whistleblower employees if they can show the termination was based on reasons _______ the whistleblowing.

separate and independent of

If an employee was fired because a supervisor acted maliciously, the employee may have a claim against the employer for ________.

the tort of wrongful termination

A(n) _______ is an employee who reports an employer's unlawful conduct or a statutory violation to the authorities.

whistleblower

Generally, _______ are protected when they report the violation of a law or standard by their employer to the authorities.

whistleblower employees

One of the most important statutes against employer termination is statutory protection for _______.

whistleblowers

The employment-at-will doctrine permits an employer to terminate an employee with or without _______ and with or without _______, subject to certain exceptions. (Choose the two correct answers)

advance notice just cause

A(n) _______ agreement gives rights to non-management employees, in addition to managers.

collective bargaining (CBA's)

In order for whistleblowers to gain statutory protection in New York, their disclosures must be connected to conduct that is ______.

dangerous

The employment-at-will rule is decidedly biased toward protecting the interests of _______.

employers

Certain federal and state statutes displace common law _______ rules.

employment-at-will

One major exception to the employment-at-will rule is when an employee has a(n) _______ contract intended to displace the employment-at-will rule.

express

The employment-at-will doctrine does not apply in cases where the employee has an _______ contract. (Choose all correct answers).

express implied

The False Claims Act provides the government with powerful tools to combat ______.

fraudulent practices frivolous lawsuits

Typically, an employment contract will provide that employers may terminate the employee only for "_______," such as committing a criminal act in the course of her employment.

good cause

The covenant of _______ and _______ represents a significantly different approach to employment-at-will relationships. (Choose two correct answers)

good faith fair dealing

An employment-at-will relationship may be converted to a(n) ________ contract relationship if the employer acted in a manner that would lead a reasonable person to believe that the employer intended to offer an employee protection from termination without cause.

implied

The employment-at-will doctrine does not apply in cases where the employee has an _______ contract. (Choose all correct answers)

implied express

Collective bargaining agreements are negotiated by _______ on behalf of a group of employees.

labor unions

An implied contract arises in the following situations: _______. (Choose all the correct answers)

- an employment handbook distributed to all employees - an oral promise made by employer that protects employee

_______ employees who are defamed by their employer, may have a _______ claim against their employer in the context of a termination.

At-will, tort-based

The _______ is a federal statute that contains an anti-retaliation provision that protects employees who disclose that their firm has committed fraud in dealing with contracts with the federal government.

False Claims Act

The starting point for analyzing the legal relationships between employers and employees is the _______, a deep-seated common law rule that exists in some form in every US jurisdiction.

employment-at-will doctrine

In the Bammert v. Don's Super Valu case, the court refused to apply the _______ exception when the wife of a police officer alleged retaliation after her husband arrested her employer's wife.

public policy

States that recognize good faith and fair dealing protect employees from job termination (1) _______ or (2) _______. (Choose all the correct answers)

without just cause malicious intent bad faith