Abstract
This study analyzes the at-will employment doctrine using a tool that encompasses the complementarity of results-based utilitarian ethics, rule-based duty ethics, and virtue-based character ethics. The paper begins with a discussion of the importance of the problem followed by its evolution and current status. After describing the method of analysis, the central section evaluates the employment at-will doctrine, and is informed by Lord Acton’s dictum, “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The conclusion explores the implications of the findings.
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The authors are pleased to recognize the contribution Erin Lewis and Claire Connolly made to this study.
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This is a revised version of a paper presented at the World Ethics Forum, Oxford University, Oxford, UK April 9–12, 2006.
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Bowman, J., West, J. Lord Acton and Employment Doctrines: Absolute Power and the Spread of At-Will Employment. J Bus Ethics 74, 119–130 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9224-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9224-0