FEATURE
PAPER
Employment
at Will: The Employee Handbook Exception
The
following paper was presented at the 2007 Allied Academies
International Conference - Jacksonville. It was written
by John Hoft and Neal F. Thomson of Columbus State University.
Case
Description
The
primary subject matter of this case is the employment at
will doctrine and how it may
be modified by an employee handbook. This case has a difficulty
level of three intended for an upper
division undergraduate course. This case is designed to be
taught in one class hour, and is expected
to require two to three hours of outside preparation by students.
Case
Synopsis
This
case begins by discussion of the employment at will doctrine,
which governs most
employment relationships in the U.S. The “at will” rule
provides that where an employment
relationship is of an indefinite duration either party may
terminate the relationship at any time for
any reason or for no reason at all. This usually bright line
doctrine, however, is subject to three
general exceptions: (1) the public policy exception; (2) the
employee handbook contract exception;
and (3) an implied covenant of “good faith and fair dealing” exception.
This case will focus on the
employment handbook contract exception. The case presents several
vignettes in involving
employment discharge and discipline and the effect of an employee
handbook, if any, upon the right
of the employer to terminate an employee “at will”.
The student is asked to examine the details of
each situation, and determine whether employment at will applies
or whether the handbook will be
deemed to modify the “at will” nature of the relationship.
Read
the Entire Paper...
.
TIP
OF THE WEEK
Benefits
of Web Auditing
No matter the size of the company, creating and maintaining
a Web site is a fact of life in operating any business in today's
marketplace. Your current and potential suppliers look at your
Web site for company details and the scope of your business,
so it's imperative that you present your company in the best
possible light. Yet many companies establish attractive, content-filled
Web sites without much, if any, consideration as to the serious
legal risk involved.
A Web site audit is a crucial first step in mitigating the
serious legal risks, including criminal and civil penalties,
involved in maintaining your valuable Web presence. By paying
close attention to how you position your content including
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and omissions can be addressed and changed, or avoided altogether.
To begin with, every commercial Web site, regardless of industry
or service, should have a set of terms and conditions (Ts and
Cs) with the link to the Ts and Cs prominently displayed on
every page. The Ts and Cs set the conditions under which the
site visitor is allowed to use the sit and its information.
While Ts and Cs should be drafted to fit the specific needs
of the business, some provisions are needed. For instance,
businesses should consider posting statements regarding copyright
and trademarks (regarding both your site and those owned by
others), a disclaimer regarding any outside links, disclaimers
regarding accuracy of content, a statement regarding privacy
(with a link to the site's privacy policy), the location of
the site's origin, the forum's state for any disputes, and
other conditions specific to the particular site. In the supply
chain context this may include addressing import/export laws
or sale-of-goods issues.
Decisions regarding the structure and content of Ts and Cs,
including whether the site requires a click-through Ts and
Cs, require guidance from someone who is familiar with the
legal issues involved. Companies should not attempt to avoid
such professional advice by copying the Ts and Cs from other
Web sites. Not only does such a practice often violate copyright
law, it may not address the business' specific legal risks.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and certain state laws
call for a privacy on all commercial sites. Any Web site that
collects personally identifiable information (such as name,
phone number, and e-mail address) must have a privacy policy
with a link to this policy prominently displayed on each page.
Legal consideration aside, posting a privacy is good business
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Of course, the content of a privacy policy will differ based
on the industry involved and the goal and content of the Web
site. Generally speaking, privacy policies should include the
following:
• What information is collected by your Web site;
• If that information is stored by the business and how it is
secured;
• How the information collected is used;
• Who to contact with questions, along with contact information;
• The effective date of the policy.
Mary
Dalton Baril. Benefits of Web Site Auditing. Auguast
2007. Volume 18. No. 8. Inside Supply Management.
pg. 34-35.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Request
for Papers & Reviewer Volunteers
The
Small Business Institue is now requesting papers and paper
review volunteers for the Small Business Institute Journal.
If you are interested in submitting a paper or becoming a
volunteer, please let us know. The first issue
is to be printed April 2008. For more information please click
here or email us at sbij@uca.edu.
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Their Entrepreneurship and Small Business Network
The Small Business Advancement
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We appreciate any help. Thank you.
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|
CONFERENCES
ALLIED
|
| Who: |
Allied
Academies
|
| What: |
Fall
International Conference
|
| Where: |
Reno,
Nevada, USA |
| When: |
October 4-5, 2007 |
|
|
|
ASBE
|
| Who: |
Association
for Small Business and Entrepreneurship
|
| What: |
2007
Conference
|
| Where: |
Austin,
Texas, USA |
| When: |
October
10-12, 2007 |
|
|
|
ISBE
|
| Who: |
Institute
for Small Business and Entrepreneurship |
| What: |
30th
Annual ISBE Conference
|
| Where: |
Heriot-Watt
University, Glasgow, Scotland |
| When: |
November
7-9, 2007 |
|
|
|
DMEF
|
| Who: |
Direct
Marketing Educational Foundation |
| What: |
Philadelphia Direct/Interactive
Marketing Symposium
|
| Where: |
Villanova University, PA, USA |
| When: |
September 28, 2007 |
|
|
|
FFI
|
| Who: |
Family
Firm Institute
|
| What: |
Annual
Conference
|
| Where: |
Fairmont Turnberry
Isle Resort & Spa
in North Miami Beach |
| When: |
October
17-20,
2007 |
|
|
|
CALLS FOR PAPERS
EIRASS
|
| Who: |
EIRASS
|
| What: |
EIRASS
Conference on Retailing and Services Studies
|
| Where: |
Zagreb |
| When: |
July 14-17, 2008 |
Submission
Deadline:
October 15, 2007
|
|
|
|
WDSI
|
| Who: |
Western
Decision Sciences Institute
|
| What: |
37th
Annual Meeting
|
| Where: |
San
Diego, California, USA |
| When: |
March
18-22, 2008 |
Submission
Deadline:
October 1, 2007
|
|
|
|
Intellect
Base
|
| Who: |
Intellect
Base
|
| What: |
Intellectual
Consortium for the Advancement of
Academic Research, Creativty, and Innovation
|
| Where: |
Atlanta,
Georgia, USA |
| When: |
October
25-27,
2007 |
Submission
Deadline:
October 15, 2007
|
|
|
|
SBI
|
| Who: |
Small
Business Institute
|
| What: |
2008 SBI Conference
|
| Where: |
Handlery
Hotel – San Diego, CA |
| When: |
Feb.
14-16, 2008 |
Submission
Deadline:
October 1, 2007
|
|
|
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