ABSTRACT
Until the mid-nineteenth century, English and American courts held that indefinite employment contracts could not be terminated at will. The stance was a legacy of strictures found in the Statute of Artificers. But by the turn of the century, English and American law no longer agreed. In England, the courts now required that reasonable notice be given to terminate employment contracts. Notice periods were brief for manual workers but could be lengthy for salaried labor. In contrast, the American courts adopted a strict presumption of terminability at will for all employees. Various explanations for this divergent development are examined. The article concludes that divergence was due to the relative weakness of trade unionism and status distinctions in the United States.
Jacoby, Sanford M, The Duration of Indefinite Employment Contracts in the United States and England: An Historical Analysis (November 24, 1982), Comparative Labor Law, V, 85-128, Winter 1982.
Leave a Reply