UNFAIR DISMISSAL

Unfair Dismissal



Unfair Dismissal

Part a: Terminating Joshi's Contract

Employee dismissals are terminations from employment executed by an employer against the will of an employee. Two basic types of dismissals exist: reductions in force (RIF), which are also referred to as layoffs or corporate downsizing, and behavior-related terminations. Although employees may be terminated for no reason whatsoever under the employment-at-will doctrine, legal risks make such firings more difficult. These laws prohibit employers from terminating employees for their age, sex, ethnicity, and so forth. In addition, some courts and legislatures handed down rulings or enacted laws in the 1980s and 1990s that started to replace the employment at-will doctrine and require employers to have just cause for firing any employee(Kollmorgen, 1997).

Businesses tend to dismiss employees for a plethora of behavior-related reasons that generally fall into two primary categories: (1) low productivity and (2) unethical conduct. Inadequate job performance—failing to perform a job effectively and efficiently—can lead to employee terminations, especially when there is no shortage of workers to fill positions held by unproductive workers. Unethical conduct such as theft, dishonesty, and violation of company policies also can cost employees their jobs, since companies want employees they can trust and employees who follow company rules.

From the case of Joshi's represent Behavior-related dismissals. Behavior-related dismissals represent a termination of a Joshi relationship by the Solomon as a result of the actions of the Joshi. Common behaviors that lead to terminations, in rough order of prevalence, include: absenteeism and tardiness, unsatisfactory performance, lack of qualifications or ability, changed job requirements, and misconduct—particularly drug abuse, theft, and dishonesty. The term "behavior-related" distinguishes this type of termination from trait-related dismissals, which are based on immutable characteristics of the employee, such as color of skin or physical disability. Trait related terminations may be legal if the employer can prove that the trait keeps the employee from performing a job satisfactorily. Such dismissals, however, are rare and legally risky because federal and state discrimination laws protect workers from terminations based on age, sex, ethnicity, etc (MacDermott, 1998).

Employers are generally allowed by law to terminate workers based on any type of behavior they deem unacceptable (or, technically, for no reason at all). Laws and court decisions, however, have protected some types of behavior when the employer's action is deemed: (1) a violation of public policy, (2) a violation of an implied contract between the employer and the employee, or (3) an act of bad faith.

One illustration of a public policy violation would be a company that fired workers because they refused to engage in unlawful acts, such as falsifying public financial documents or giving false testimony in court. Another public policy violation would be the firing of employees because they exercised a statutory right, such as the right to vote in an election or to worship at a church. A third type of infraction in this category would be the dismissal of employees for exercising their right to fulfill an important public ...