Do You Have A Lifetime Employment Contract? - Part 2

We can all agree that having a single source of income (a.k.a. "one employer", "one client", or "one anything" for that matter!) is probably not the best way to mitigate the risk of unexpected unemployment. Furthermore, I highly doubt that anyone has a written lifetime employment contract. And if they do, how enforceable and reliable is it if the company goes bankrupt or gets bought out altogether? The same holds true for the self-employed who solely rely on a single client for their income. I doubt that any client will sign a contract to be the lifetime purchaser of your goods and services.

If you've followed my blogs then you know I am a proponent of the "do as the leading companies do" model. That means you need to manage your career like a company manages its business. Virtually all major companies have signed and legally enforceable contracts with their suppliers, vendors, and distributors. Can you imagine a grocery store owner having to lose sleep each night worrying whether the supplier of milk and eggs will deliver the goods the next day? Can you imagine an automobile manufacturer not having defined-length contracts with its parts suppliers? Companies are keen on having contracts with all the entities that affect their ability to generate income. If they won't risk their sources of income on the whims of those upon which they rely, then why do you?

In America, if you are an "at-will employee", then your source of income is at risk each and everyday. Are you comfortable living like that? You may say to yourself that you've been served well by this model of employment and have suffered no adverse effects thus far. But that's like a race car driver saying he's never crashed out of a race. Or a homeowner saying he's never been burglarized. The fact that it hasn't happened yet is no excuse for you not to be worried or take precautions. According to the legal definitions of at-will employment you'll see that the only employees who have protection from unexpected job loss are union members and company executives. If you're not one of them, you're one of the masses who goes to work each day like an automated drone blindly believing that your office space is actually yours.

A.  At-Will Defined
At-will means that an employer can terminate an employee at any time for any reason, except an illegal one, or for no reason without incurring legal liability.  Likewise, an employee is free to leave a job at any time for any or no reason with no adverse legal consequences.

At-will also means that an employer can change the terms of the employment relationship with no notice and no consequences.  For example, an employer can alter wages, terminate benefits, or reduce paid time off.  In its unadulterated form, the U.S. at-will rule leaves employees vulnerable to arbitrary and sudden dismissal, a limited or on-call work schedule depending on the employer’s needs, and unannounced cuts in pay and benefits.  

B.  Modification by Contract
The at-will presumption is a default rule that can be modified by contract.  For example, a contract may provide for a specific term of employment or allow termination for cause only.  Typically, U.S. companies negotiate individual employment agreements only with high-level employees.  Collective bargaining agreements usually provide that represented employees may only be terminated for cause.

Cause generally includes reasons such as poor employee performance, employee misconduct, or economic necessity.  An employment contract may specifically outline the situations or employee actions that would lead to termination for cause.