¶ … US labour law, at-will employment means that an employer can terminate an employee's employment any time without good cause and without any legal consequences (National Conference of State Legislature [NCSL], 2017). In other words, the employer can dismiss an employee even in the absence of reasons such as poor performance, misconduct, and economic necessity. Likewise, an employee can leave a job any time without any reason and without any legal consequences. Also, at-will employment means that an employer can amend employment terms (such as benefits, wages, and paid time off) without warning and any legal consequences. Even so, an employer cannot dismiss an employee for illegal reasons such as possession of protected characteristics (e.g. gender, race, and religion) and complaining about illegal activity, harassment, and discrimination. Furthermore, there are exceptions to the presumption of at-will employment. These include public policy, implied contract, and implied covenant of good faith (NCSL, 2017). The exception of public policy means that employees are protected from adverse employers' actions that may violate public interest. The implied contract exception means that the employer can dismiss an employee at will if promises of permanent employment were made (orally or through the...

The exception of implied covenant of good faith means that an employer cannot demonstrate bad faith when dismissing an employee. Dismissing an older worker to avoid paying retirement benefits may be interpreted as bad faith on the part of the employer.
It will be difficult for Alice to prove any of the above exceptions in court. Unless she had not signed an at-will agreement, it will be quite hard for Alice to take any legal action on HRTC. As an employer, HRTC is protected by the law to fire employees without good cause. In other words, HRTC is in an employment at-will state, and cannot incur any legal consequences for firing Alice.

Part B: Voinovich's Case

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) outlaws discrimination in employment against persons aged 40 years and above (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC], n.d.). This means that it is illegal for an employer to treat an employee less favourably evidently on the basis of their age with respect to any aspect of employment, including recruitment, firing, promotion, compensation, fringe benefits, work assignments, layoff, and training. Also, it is unlawful to harass an employee because of their age. Employment discrimination on the…