Legal Risk and Opportunity in Employment
Business Law/Law531
University of Phoenix
May 5, 2010

As business managers or business owners, it is required to know the laws that will protect the employer and employee too. Employment laws must be fully understood in order to identify when someone’s action will cause legal matters that will harm to the company.
Legal Encounter 1: Pat vs. NewCorp
The legal principals related to this encounter are, what does the policy hand book states, what is employment at will, and was Freedom of Speech violated. Pat would be the plaintiff because of wrongful discharge by NewCorp. NewCorp did not follow the employee policy hand book when terminating Pat as a manager. NewCorp will be the only defendant in this case because Pat’s manager is a representative of NewCorp. Terminating Pat without following the employee handbook was not the correct action that should have been taken. According to the employee policy handbook, Pat should have been written up and given a plan to correct his wrong actions as a manager. If Pat did not correct his wrong actions as a manager within a specific and reasonable amount of time, then NewCorp would have the rights to terminate Pat from his position as a manager.
According to Moynihan, K, (2005)“Focuses on the ruling of the Vermont Supreme Court that a contract provision allowing an employer to terminate an at-will employee with or without cause does not insulate the employer from a claim based on the violation of public policy in LoPresti vs. Rutland Regional Health Services Inc. Allegation of primary care physician Leigh LoPresti that Rutland terminated his employment because he did not make referrals to the three specialists employed by the company; Reversal of a summary judgment decision dismissing the plaintiff's claim of wrongful discharge in violation of the