INTRODUCTION Workers in the United States are most commonly hired, and fired, based on the employment relationship deemed "at will." While England provided the foundation to most law in the United States, the questions regarding the duration of employment and whether a firing must be for cause have been answered in a distinctly American way. Historically, contract law defined the extent of the employment relationship. In England, absent specific contractual language, the term of employment was presumed to be one year (Summers, 2000). Early American courts were not sure if they should apply this rule; some courts followed the English rule, some not (Id). In 1877, Horace Wood, a jurist, proclaimed that the rule in the United States established a presumption opposite that of the English courts. In America, employment was of an indefinite period unless the employee could prove otherwise (Id).
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