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A Defense of Just Cause Dismissal Rules

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2015

John J. McCall
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Abstract:

The United States is distinctive among advanced economies in that its employment laws and practices are governed by Employment at Will (EAW). Most other nations have variations on Just Cause dismissal rules. I argue that the U.S. preference for EAW is unsupported by concerns about net social or economic consequences. More centrally, I argue that the basic moral commitments that underlie the U.S. system of private property and freedom of contract are commitments that lend support to Just Cause over EAW.

Type
Articles
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , April 2003 , pp. 151 - 175
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 2003

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