The Employment Contract: Rights and Duties of Employers and Employees

Written as a comprehensive reference for personnel managers, vice presidents in charge of human resources, and for practicing attorneys, The Employment Contract addresses both the historical development of the employer-employee relationship and current legal practice. In addition to thorough coverage of the many legal and nonlegal concepts and precedents involved, Freedman also offers in-depth analysis of such timely issues as the impact of AIDS on anti-discrimination statutes and problems of sexual harassment in the workplace. Throughout, the discussion is illustrated with ample references to applicable case law.

Freedman begins by exploring the traditional master-servant relationship and its impact on beginning concepts of the employment contract. He goes on to trace the law’s response to various issues affecting the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees including the termination and dismissal of employees; age, racial, sexual, and religious discrimination; the discriminatory problems of the handicapped; and other federal statutes such as unemployment compensation, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). In a separate chapter devoted to workplace injuries, federal statutes such as Workmens’ Compensation and the Federal Employers’ Liability Act also receive thorough treatment. The volume concludes with comprehensive discussions of liability to third parties, noncompetitive covenants, unions, and migrant and alien employees.