Chapter Outline
9.1 Employment, Worker Protection, and Immigration Law
9.2 Labor Law
9.3 Equal Opportunity in Employment
Introduction
Learning Outcome
•
Analyze various laws governing employer/employee relationships.
9.1
Employment, Worker Protection, and Immigration Law
Compared to other countries in the West, stringent and extensive employee protections came fairly late to the
United States. Up until 1959, for example, employers had the right to fire a worker without giving any reason.
This concept, which was was known as at-will employment, was applicable in all states. The concept of at-will
employment does, however, continue today, and all employees are considered to be at-will unless they are
employed under a collective bargaining agreement, or under a contract for a set duration. Employers can still
fire employees for any reason, but they cannot be fired for illegal reasons, as set out in the U.S. or state
constitutions, federal law, state statutes, or public policy. In this section, some of the main employee rights
and company responsibilities will be introduced.
Figure 9.1 (Credit: rawpixel/ pixabay/ Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0))
9
Employment and Labor Law