Question

Aisha is an employee at bento food mart. aisha is called for jury duty and as a result cannot work her scheduled shift. bento fires aisha. she successfully sues bento for reinstatement. with respect to the employment-at-will doctrine, this is

Answer 1

Answer: An exception based on public policy.

Explanation: The employment - at - will doctrine is a measure that states that employers can fire an employee for any reason without giving the employee a cause or reason, or an employee can leave work whenever it's necessary and for any reason. The aim of this doctrine is to reduce wrongful termination and avoid lawsuits between employers and employees.

However there are exceptions to this rule. These exceptions undermine the employment - at - will doctrine and prevent either party from terminating the employment relationship at will. The exception that applies to the scenario given is the Public Policy exception.

This exception states that there are governmental rules, policies and laws in place that employees may need to follow that will trump the employers rules. These governmental policies and laws voids using the employment - at - will doctrine as a defence in a wrongful termination case. The fact that Aisha was called for jury duty and couldn't go to work is an exception to the employment - at - will doctrine based on public policy.