nting non-supervisorial employees the right to organize and their unions the exclusive right to bargain collectively on their behalf under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 and its successors the level of their wages and other benefits. The wages of government employees at all levels are governed by civil service laws. Both unionized employees and government employees have guaranteed statutory rights against dismissal without just or good cause, which is subject to elaborate grievance and arbitration procedures and compliance is regulated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Civil Service Commission, respectively, as well as other public bodies.
Most Americans, who are employed in the private sector at executive, managerial, professional or supervisorial levels have no such protection. Traditionally, their employment was at will and they could be fired, demoted or lose their compensation or benefits at the whim of the employer. The employment at will doctrine is still law in a minority of states but the ability of employers to discharge or demote arbitrarily any employee or to effect adversely their compensation or benefits has been hedged about in various ways:
(1) The adoption of federal and state anti-discrimination
civil rights laws, such as Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, barring state action which discriminates in employment on the basis of race, gender, religion or origin and Supreme Court decisions upholding those laws.
(2) Courts in many states held that adverse action against
employees must be based on just cause and that an
implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing existed
in every employment contract. Employers are held to
account for the promises contained in their employee handbooks. In Metcalf v. Intermountain Gas Co. (1989), the Supreme Court of Ida...