Elaine Case

You are the Judge Paper 1

CASE EXAMPLE A: Elaine has sued Jerry because Jerry fired her. Elaine was on the job for two months. The job offer letter she had been given mentioned the great career opportunities at the company and stated that her annual salary would be $30,000. The employer is an "Employment at Will" employer. Elaine was given no reason for the termination. After the termination; Jerry hired a man named Kramer, who had less job experience and education than Elaine for the position. Elaine has sued to get her job back.

Elaine the plaintiff sued Jerry the defendant for termination of employment. Upon hire Elaine received a letter stating great career opportunities and annual salary of $30,000. Was there a signed annual written contract between both parties or was that a selling scheme to join the company? Jerry's company is considered an "At-Will" employer. Did Jerry have the right to terminate Elaine without a given reason? Under common law, an At-Will employee can be discharged by an employer at any time for any reason. Elaine believes she has been wrongfully terminated. Was it ethical for Jerry to fire Elaine? After her termination, Jerry hired a new employee, Kramer, who is less qualified then Elaine. Does the job require certain Job and/or Educational skills? Was there any compensation or money given due to the termination? Is there sufficient evidence to show an ethics violation or discrimination to the plaintiff? There are various questions that must be answered before a ruling can be made in this case.

The plaintiff, Elaine is suing the defendant due to wrongful discharge. Even though she was an At-Will employee, there are certain exceptions when employees cannot be dismissed such as contract, statutory, public policy, and tort exception. Elaine could argue that she had been given an "express contract". In certain situations an implied-in-fact contract can be created between an employer and an employee. In this case, she had received a letter that mentioned that she will have career opportunities, and annual income of $30,000, which can be implied as employment of at least two years due to the written words of "opportunities" and "annual". Elaine believes that she has been treated unethically because after the termination of her employment, Kramer, who has less education then her, became the new employee of the company. Therefore an argument can be made that Elaine may have been a victim of sexual discrimination, which violates the Fair Employment Practices Act from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The defendant, Jerry is being sued by Elaine because he fired her. Jerry is an employee of an "At-Will Employer" who has the right to terminate any employee without any given reason. This laissez-faire doctrine gave the employer the flexibility in responding to its' changing needs. Without circumstantial