Employee relations : legal and political foundations

This book is designed as a supplement to courses in employment relations and human resource management. The book uses a historical perspective to study American employment. Chapter 1 focuses on the background prior to the New Deal revolution. An important part of that background was the idea of "employment-at-will," which permitted an employee without a fixed contract to quit work at any time, and permitted the employer to fire the employee at any time. This idea was so important that the U.S. Supreme Court created a constitutional rule prohibiting any legislative attempt to regulate work relations. The law now recognizes a number of exceptions to employment-at-will, and the Constitution has been reinterpreted to allow both state and federal laws regulating employment in many ways. Insurance to protect workers against on-the-job injuries came into existence in the 1920s, and its birth and development offer an interesting variation on modern regulation.
Abstract: This book is designed as a supplement to courses in employment relations and human resource management. The book uses a historical perspective to study American employment. Chapter 1 focuses on the background prior to the New Deal revolution. An important part of that background was the idea of "employment-at-will," which permitted an employee without a fixed contract to quit work at any time, and permitted the employer to fire the employee at any time. This idea was so important that the U.S. Supreme Court created a constitutional rule prohibiting any legislative attempt to regulate work relations. The law now recognizes a number of exceptions to employment-at-will, and the Constitution has been reinterpreted to allow both state and federal laws regulating employment in many ways. Insurance to protect workers against on-the-job injuries came into existence in the 1920s, and its birth and development offer an interesting variation on modern regulation