ABSTRACT
Following the introduction and entrenchment of the American rule of employment at will in the nineteenth century, inequities resulting from the doctrine became more apparent. 1 Over time, this led both the legislature and courts to modify the doctrine so that the arbitrary exercise of managerial prerogative by employers in the context of dismissal was curtailed in certain circumstances. However, instead of creating a comprehensive statutory scheme to regulate unfair dismissal like in the United Kingdom and Australia, 2 wrongful dismissal law in the United States has evolved into a complex system composed of numerous strands that bear little relationship to one another. 3 These strands were introduced at different times and were diverse in both origin and purpose. Unlike Australia, which adopted a federal unfair dismissal law covering employees in each of the Australian states, 4 or the United Kingdom, which has only one statutory unfair dismissal system, in the United States laws regulating job security exist at both the federal and state levels. As such, exceptions to the default rule of employment at will have been adopted in some states or for some employees but not others.
