Reflections on Employment Law and What Needs to Change

¶ … legal principle of at-Will employees is one that I feel has both good and bad ramifications. On the good side, it allows employees to quit at any time and seek employment somewhere else. This can be a positive step if the employee feels that the job is not something he or she wants to continue for whatever reason. On the other hand, I think this principle could undermine the entire structure of the employer-employee relationship, giving it a sort of indeterminate or unstable footing.

Depending on the nature the job or line of business, it might be beneficial for the employer and the employee to develop more of a relationship that is built on commitment so that both sides know that the other is fully invested -- sort of like a marriage. This sort of investment has ramifications, of course, beyond the mere business arrangement: it has societal ramifications.

For instance, if an employer and employee negotiate a contract that is not at-will then this sets a tone for other employers and employees in society and could even develop into a trend which would have support a fundament shift in the way society thinks about work and employment. It could end up that such a course runs civilization right back to a manner of work similar to the old world in which one entered into a guild of some sort and spent years as an apprentice.

This would be like a way of life and an entirely new structure of work and society would unfold. With all of the legalism in today's legal proceedings, I would not be surprised to find a development of this sort at some point in the future as employers and employees become more close-knit, almost like families, in order to survive and thrive. Another aspect of employment law that I can see changing in the future is the law of drug testing.

As the nation embraces relaxation of marijuana laws, I believe this will impact employment law in a way where it is no longer legal for employers to test for marijuana. It may even become that employers are not allowed to test for any drugs at all. If drug use is allowed at a state level but still banned at the federal level, there could be a potential recipe for disaster in the courts as law suits are filed over who has rights and who does not.

Of course, the last time states tried to assert their rights in the face of federal authorities, a civil war ensued -- but perhaps we have progressed some in the past 150 years. Then, again, perhaps not. Hemp used to be legal back then and today its usage is outlawed. How does this impact employment law? It should be discussed in the public forum whether employers actually have a right to screen applicants for drug use, especially in a culture that has become liberalized over the years.

For many individuals, drug use is a responsible method of recreation. A third aspect of employment law that I believe will have to be monitored is the gun law. As violence erupts around the world in more and more places, it may become popular for workers to want to carry weapons -- if they still live in a nation that has not banned firearms, that is.

As tragedy strikes more frequently, employment law may have to consider the possibility that employees should have a right to carry a firearm while at work. There are certainly a number of cases within recent years where such a measure might have come in handy. With the amount of violence seen in society lately, it must be admitted that the world has changed and is no longer like the world it was twenty or thirty years ago.

In some ways, even as we introduce more and more laws it becomes less and less lawful. Perhaps it is that legalism leads to lawlessness. In any event, gun laws regarding employees may need to be relaxed in the future.

2nd Assignment The website at Vault.com/blog / is written by Vault Law Editors and describes "The Five Employment Law Principles." I believe this site would be useful to someone studying Employment Law because it offers a quick, simple refresher on the basics of Employment Law principles in terms of a legal and ethical basis. What is best is that it starts off with real-world examples of problems that employers face -- such as the HR manager of a small eBusiness firm.

What comes up are questions that real people ask regarding employment law and the Vault Law Editors are able to provide some positive feedback that helps to answer the questions. For me this is a great refresher and good way to see how knowledge.