Can employers suspend employees without giving reason why?
Full Question:
Answer:
In most instances, the employment contract will not state its expiration date. In such a case, the contract may be terminated at any time by either party. Ordinarily a contract of employment may be terminated in the same manner as any other contract. If it is to run for a definite period of time, the employer cannot terminate the contract at an earlier date without justification. If the employment contract does not have a definite duration, it is terminable at will. This is called employment at will. Under the employment at will doctrine, the employer has historically been allowed to terminate the contract at any time for any reason or for no reason.
The same principal would apply to suspensions. Unless an employee has a contract that addresses this issue, employers can generally suspend the employee for any reason or no reason and has no obligation to state the reason for the suspension. Some State Courts and some State Legislatures have changed this rule by limiting the power of the employer to discharge the employee without cause. For example, Court decisions have carved out exceptions to this doctrine when the discharge violates an established public policy, such as discharging an employee in retaliation for insisting that the employer comply with the State's Food and Drug Act. Courts may sometimes construe an employer's statements concerning continued employment as a part of the employment contract, and therefore require good cause for the discharge of an at-will employee. Also, written personnel policies used as guidelines for the employer's supervisors have been interpreted as restricting the employer's right to discharge at-will employees without just cause. Employee handbooks or personnel manuals have been construed as part of the employee's contract.