Employment-At-Will Doctrine

July 29, 2012 Legal 500

As a manager and supervisor of an accounting firm, the following scenarios regarding At-Will employment would be handled accordingly. In the examples given, Jennifer was a recent graduate from college. However, she doesn’t have the applicable work skills necessary to complete the job in many areas. According to the Employment-At-Will Doctrine, employers are able to “dismiss their employees at will for good cause, for no cause, or even for cause morally wrong” (Halbert). For the skills, competence, and abilities section, I suggest making Jennifer retake the course. For example, Jennifer stated that she is a good worker and a genius. She also stated that the boss was not appreciating her. However, after training, she failed to complete the required tasks. In this situation, I suggest that the supervisor conduct a progress report while reviewing the guidelines and job description with Jennifer. After a few months, the initial job assessment should be completed. If the assessment proves that Jennifer is still unable to accomplish tasks by the next employee review session after 6 months of employment, it will then be sufficient evidence to remove her from the position using Employment At-Will Doctrine guidelines. Unfortunately, an employee that does not adhere to the guidelines can and will be terminated. In addition, Jennifer’s arrogant statements are a reflection of how she feels as an employee. She may need to be reminded of the fact that the company hired her and it is not her company. During the second scenario, Jennifer had been late on several occasions. When approached by a supervisor, her response was that she knows everything about employment law. In this scenario, Jennifer burst into a fit of rage when approached about the matters. At this point, I would