Employment at Will Doctrine

Student’s Name:
Instructor’s Name:
Course:
Date:
Employment-at-Will Doctrine
The employment-at-will legal doctrine governs employment relationships with no definite terms. In all the US states, employment contracts are recognized to be at-will except for Montana. The US is among the few countries globally that legally allow employment-at-will contracts (Goodman, Doug, and Cohen 182). The justifications given for the at-will employment relationships include freedom from being bound by contracts, deference to the employer, and the presumption that both parties in an employment contract prefer at-will arrangements other than job security.
Fundamentally, parties entering an employment contract for a defined period are legally bound and can only terminate the contract upon expiration, unless there are valid reasons to end the contract earlier. However, in cases where an employment contract has no defined term, the employer or the employee is legally allowed to terminate the relationship at any time, without necessarily having valid reasons (Coombs, Christopher, and Robert 9). The doctrine provides that neither party in an at-will employment relationship will have any legal liabilities upon contract termination.
Definition
The Employment-at-will doctrine has slight differences in its definition across the American states. The general definition of the doctrine is that an employer is free to terminate an employment contract at will, for any reason (except illegal ones), or none at all, without having to incur legal liabilities (Werhane, Patricia, and Tara Radin 415). On the other hand, employees are free to cancel their employment whenever they wish, without any valid reasons, and without fear of legal repercussions.
Additionally, the at-will doctrine states that an employer is allowed to amend the terms and conditions of employment contracts without prior notice or consequences. For instance, employers are legally allowed to adjust wages, cancel benefits if any are given, or increase work hours (Coombs, Christopher, and Robert 15). The unadulterated at-will rule in the US creates unfair disadvantages to the employees as they are susceptible to sudden and arbitrary dismissal, on-call or limited work sc...