ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses rules of American employment law, including the employment at-will rule and the US' response to various forms of contingent labor practices. It demonstrates how vulnerability theory can provide a unique perspective and guiding set of principles for approaching regulation of a complex system. The chapter focuses on American law, the principles can be applied to jurisdictions with different specific rules about private ordering. Much has changed in the actual experience of the employment relationship over the last several decades. The changing nature of the employment relationship suggests the importance of considering the possible impacts of inevitable change on other societal relationships and institutions. Historically, neither the individual states nor the federal government in the US have been as protective of employees as their counterparts in Europe and elsewhere around the world. The current understanding of the contingent labor relationship is also one deeply rooted in the concepts of contract and private ordering.
