You Are the Judge Paper 1

CASE EXAMPLE A: Elaine has sued Jerry because Jerry fired her. Elaine was on the job for two months. The job offer letter she had been given mentioned the great career opportunities at the company and stated that her annual salary would be $30,000. The employer is an employment at will employer. Elaine was given no reason for the termination. After the termination, Jerry hired a man named Kramer, who had less job experience and education than Elaine, for the position. Elaine has sued to get her job back.

The legal issues in the case of Elaine X v. Jerry Employer involve promises of great career opportunities. Considering that the employer is an "At Will" employer, does the employer need to provide an explanation for the termination? Are there ethics violations or various types of discrimination that played a role in the termination of the plaintiff? There are multiple questions that must be answered before a ruling can be made in this case. Was the employer within his right to terminate the plaintiff with no explanation? Is there sufficient evidence to show ethics violation or discrimination against the plaintiff?

The plaintiff has the 'burden of proof' for proving each 'element' of each count in the complaint. The Plaintiff claims to be wrongfully terminated based on an implied-in-fact contract and a victim of sex discrimination. Plaintiff argues that the job offer letter she had been given mentioned the great career opportunities at the company and stated that her annual salary would be $30,000.great career opportunities in the form of a job offer letter. The plaintiff claims to have also had a performance review where it was documented that she was performing her job properly. Hmm. Where did that fact come from? Although the employer is an "at will" employer, it is not required to have employment contracts, the job offer letter substantiates a contract once it was accepted. Elaine argues that she has been discriminated against because Jerry hired a man named Kramer, who had less job experience and education than Elaine, for the position. She is the victim of wrongful termination by her former employer, and because of this she should be reinstated to her former position within the company. While the defendant in this case is an "at will employer," meaning he can legally discharge an employee at any time for any reason, Elaine could claim that the job offer is an "express contract" governing the employment relationship. This would mean that in this instance there was an "implied-in-fact contract" that was created between the employer and her, at the time of hiring. In the job offer letter Elaine received from the company it stated, "Her annual salary would be $30,000" and that she would have, "great career opportunities." The word "annual" in terms of salary means that she would be paid on a yearly basis, insinuating that she was hired to work there for at definite term. Very good. Also, in the mentioning of career opportunities it is reasonable to believe that the word "career" meant longer than two years. Elaine could claim that she is a victim of sex discrimination because Jerry hired a male who has less experience and less education. Title Vii of the Civil Rights Act (called the Fair Employment Practices Act) was intended to eliminate jog job discrimination based on the following protected classes: race, color, national origin, sex and religion.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

At-will employment is a doctrine of American law that defines an employment relationship in which either party can break the relationship with no liability, provided there was no express contract for a definite term governing the employment relationship and that the employer does not belong to a collective bargaining group (i.e., has not recognized a union). Under this legal doctrine:

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