CASE EXAMPLE A: Elaine has sued Jerry because Jerry fired her. Elaine was on the job for two months.
The job o”er letter she had been given men&oned the great career opportuni&es 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 termina&on. A,er the termina&on, Jerry hired a man named
Kramer, who had less job experience and educa&on than Elaine, for the posi&on. Elaine has sued to
get her job back.
This assignment will be discussing example A. Reiterating this case, it is about Elaine, an at-will employee
that had been working for Jerry for two months before she was !red by Jerry with no reason as to why.
“Under common law, an at-will employee can be discharged by an employer at any time for any reason,
enabling Jerry to !re her at any time without reason.” (Cheeseman, p. 415) However, the job o.er she
had received was delivered through a le/er that stated her annual salary would be $30,000, and the she
has the possibility to move up in the company. In addition, another individual, Kramer (male), was hired
shortly a5er her termination despite having less experience and education than Elaine. Seeing this as a
violation of her rights, she has decided to sue in order to regain her job. In order to discover whether
Elaine has good grounds to get her job back, one must look at the possible legal issues that have arisen
from the event, along with arguments from both sides.
Considering that Jerry’s workplace is an at-will employer, one must consider what legal issues may arise
from the events that occurred. In this case, one has to look if Elaine is an exception to the Employment-
at-Will Doctrine. First, one would have to see if she is a statutory exception. Kramer, a less experienced
and educated male, was hired following Elaine’s termination. Under Title VII and any accompanying state
and federal antidiscrimination laws, it holds that there is a possibility that this has been violated due to
her being a female, and Kramer being a male. These laws “prohibit employers from engaging in race, sex,
religious, age, handicap, or other forms of discrimination.” (Cheeseman, p. 416) Also worth noting is that
she may be a contract exception. While the workplace is an at-will employee environment, she received
an o.er le/er o.ering her $30,000 as her annual salary, giving the impression that she was to be hired
