Discharge for Cause: History and Development in the United States

This article reviews the literature on discharge for cause in the United States in the twentieth century. The principal findings are that (1) discharge rates tend to be lower during periods of economic recession and higher during years of prosperity; (2) discharge rates have not varied significantly as between union and nonunion employers; (3) discharge rates are inversely related to seniority and age of employees; and (4) workers who are discharged for cause have more difficulty finding employment than workers who have been laid off or who have left their jobs voluntarily. It is estimated that approximately 3 million private sector at-will employees are discharged each year. Using what they consider to be reasonable assumptions, the authors estimate that at least 150,000 would be found to have been discharged without just cause if they had recourse to arbitration under the same standards as unionized employees.