Employment Attorneys Lebanon PA

EMPLOYMENT

The relationship of an employer and an employee exists when, pursuant to an agreement of the parties, one person, the employee, agrees to work under the direction and control of another, the employer, for compensation. The agreement of the parties is a contract, and it is therefore subject to all the principles applicable to contracts. The contract may be an express contract. In other words, the duties of the employee will be specifically set forth in the contract. The contract may also be implied. Most employment contracts are implied oral agreements. In this type of arrangement, the employer is accepting the services of the employee that a reasonable person would recognize as being such that compensation would be given to the employee.

Collective bargaining contracts govern the rights and obligations of employers and employees in many employment relationships. These occur when a union negotiates on behalf of employees. Collective bargaining involves representatives of the employees bargaining with a single employer or a group of employers for an agreement. This agreement will cover such things as wages, hours, and working conditions for the employees. The employees, of course, make up a union and elect members to represent, and negotiate for, them with the employer. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) guarantees employees the right to form a labor union and requires employers to deal with a duly-elected union as the bargaining agent for the employees. The NLRA prohibits employers from interfering with employees and from discriminating against an employee as a result of the employee’s union activity.

In most instances, the employment contract will not state its expiration date. In such a case, the contract may be terminated at any time by either party. However, the contract may expressly state that it will last for a specified period of time such as a contract to work as a general manager for five years.

Ordinarily a contract of employment may be terminated in the same manner as any other contract. If it is to run for a definite period of time, the employer cannot terminate the contract at an earlier date without justification. If the employment contract does not have a definite duration, it is terminable at will. This is called employment at will. Under the employment at will doctrine, the employer has historically been allowed to terminate the contract at any time for any reason or for no reason. Some State Courts and some State Legislatures have changed this rule by limiting the power of the employer to discharge the employee without cause. For example, Court decisions have carved out exceptions to this doctrine when the discharge violates an established public policy, such as discharging an employee in retaliation for insisting that the employer comply with the State's Food and Drug Act.

Courts may sometimes construe an employer's statements concerning continued employment as a part of the employment contract, ...