Question

Employment at-will with exceptions is the standard doctrine for employers throughout the U.S. However, the state of Montana did something different by enacting the Montana Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act. This state law essentially eliminates at-will employment in the state of Montana. Employers must now show just cause to terminate all employees.

Do you think the employment at-will with exceptions standard provides sufficient protections for workers? Or do you think the other states should follow Montana’s lead and require just cause for all terminations?

Answer 1

Majority of the Corporate organizations today use the Employment at - will strategy which denotes that the organization can hire and fire based on their will and this is generally based on the requirement of the organization. When there is demand the organization will hire individuals and when there is less demand they can terminate individuals without even furnishing a proper reason. Now, the state of Montana eliminated at-will employment based on the Employment Act and now employers have to furnish a proper reason to terminate any of the employees.

I believe that all other states should follow Montana's lead because it is unethical and unfair for organizations to have a Hire and Fire policy as this affects the life of the employees hence the organizations need to furnish a proper reason if they feel they will be terminating employees. Performance, discipline, etc. can be reasons based on which employees can be terminated and there are some non negotiable guidelines that organizations possess and employees can be terminated if they violate any of these guidelines because in that case the organization may adopt a no tolerance policy.