TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS

LESSON 27-3

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

1. When an employee is liable for quitting a job

2. When an employer is liable for firing an employee

3. What rights “you” as an employee has

4. How most employment contracts end

5. Why the rights of At Will Employees, Express

contract employees and government employees

differ

HOW ARE “MOST” EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS TERMINATED (ENDED)?

• Clue 1: What is included in all employment agreements?

• Clue 2: What must be accomplished in order for both sides to get

what they want done (Work for pay)

• Clue 3: Why is it important that “ALL” employment agreements be

terminated?

• ANSWER: Most contracts are terminated by performance (Both sides

doing what they promised)

WHAT DOES “BREACHING A CONTRACT” MEAN?

• When employment contracts exist, both sides take on

obligations and duties

• Obligations are things “you” as an employee accept, as what

you are responsible to do

• Duties are what your employer owes you, such as pay

• Breaching a contract means one side did not live up to their

obligations or duties as agreed and can be fought for in

court

AT YOUR TABLE, DISCUSS 4-5 OBLIGATIONS EMPLOYEES HAVE AND 4-5 DUTIES AN EMPLOYER HAS

DUTIES LIST

1. Pay you what was agreed

2. Benefits agreed

3. Hours agreed

4. Safe work environment

5. Overtime (If hourly)

6. Treat fairly/reasonably

OBLIGATIONS LIST

1. Work as agreed in contract

2. Perform timely

3. Hours as agreed

4. Follow business rules

5. On time

6. Work with others well

WHAT RIGHTS DO AT WILL EMPLOYEES HAVE IN A WORK

CONTRACT?

• Rights are limited, because they can be fired for “any” reason or no

reason at all

• At will has no time limit in the agreement, so the only real agreement

is pay/benefits for the agreed work

• Employees can leave at any time for no reason as well, so their only

obligation is to complete the work agreed

• Pay must be made if the work is completed

• Only protections are based on age, discrimination laws, and overtime

WHAT DOES IS MEAN TO BE WRONGFULLY DISCHARGED?

• Wrongful discharge means you were fired for an inappropriate

reason, such as race, creed, religion, sexuality or other discrimination

reasons

• If you are fired as an At Will employee and given a reason you

disagree with, you have a right to fight it in court.

• Ex) Boss fires you for stealing and you didn’t steal a thing, you can

force them to produce proof or fix the record

• If you are Discharged with Cause, it means there was a reason you

were fired, such as being late, fighting, insubordination or others

WHY DON’T YOU WANT TO BE DISCHARGED FOR CAUSE?

• Since Discharged for Cause means you did something wrong, you will

need to explain this at future interviews as its on your record

• When you are Discharged for Cause, you are not eligible for

Unemployment

• Most employers will only discharge an employee for cause if they

have verifiable proof they can show in court (If you challenge it)

• Unemployment is an insurance that you can collect when out of work

for up to 6 months while looking for work

LETS WATCH THIS ON FIRING AND YOUR RIGHTS

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-5SDwr9aik&spfreload=10

HOW DO CONTRACT TERMS EFFECT CONTRACT DISAGREEMENTS?

• Contract terms are anything that is agreed to within a written or

spoken agreement prior to a work agreement

• Employee Handbooks are a common thing in most businesses

• Handbooks are composed of employee rules and regulations that an

employee must do and items an employer promises

• If an employer promises “Fair Treatment” within the handbook, it may

become part of the employment agreement

• The employee may bring this up in court if the disagreement cannot

be settled at work

WHAT HAPPENS IF A CONTRACT FOR A SPECIFIC PERIOD OF TIME IS

NOT COMPLETED

• Any contract, including work agreements, that are made for a specific

period of time are breached if either side terminates (ends) it before

its completed

• “Specific reasons” why you are breaching the contract must be given

“if” this is done to be legal (Discrimination, broken promises, etc)

• Ex) If you sign a 3 year deal with a business as a Marketing Manager

then decide not to come to work for the last year, the company will

claim a “breach of contract” and terminate the contract, THEN

attempt to sue you in court

ARE GOVERNMENT BASED EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS DIFFERENT

THAN PRIVATE CONTRACTS?

• Any person who works for the government is called a public employee

• Anyone who works for anything OTHER THAN the government is called

a private sector employee

• 80-85% of the workforce is made up of private sector employees

• Public sector employees are entitled to “Due Process” before they are

fired from a job (More difficult to fire)

• Due process means they MUST be given a reason for firing and that

they can appeal the decision in court

• Employer MUST produce proof to fire them

WATCH THIS ON DUE PROCESS AND BE PREPARED TO TELL ME

HOW “YOU” THINK THIS WOULD WORK WITH AN EMPLOYEE BEING FIRED FROM A JOB (TAKE NOTES)

• http://study.com/academy/lesson/due-process-taking-the-fifth-and-

fourteenth-amendments.html

HOW IS AN EMPLOYEE ABLE TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR UNEMPLOYMENT

COMPENSATION?

• Unemployment is an “insurance” that you pay into when you work• Its taken out of your check as a tax• You are eligible for unemployment if you are discharged “without”

cause• Discharged without cause means you did nothing wrong but were

terminated• Ex) Boss says to you “I can’t afford to pay you so I need to let you go”• Discharged for cause means you did something that violated the

contract (Stealing, late, fighting) and you are NOT eligible to collect unemployment

TICKET OUT THE DOOR QUIZ

•Complete the practice

quiz and turn in

before end of class

•Review and quiz

within next 3 classes