Legal, Ethical, and Regulatory Issues in Business Case Study

Legal, Ethical, and Regulatory Issues in Business - Case Study Example In this type of set-up, employees may quit their job anytime and for any, or no or uneven reason and the employers can likewise fire or layoff employees at any time and for any, no or unfair reasons. But employers are limited by exceptions such as if employment termination is in breach of a contract or illegal. This renders the Employment at Will Doctrine inapplicable. The doctrine will not be applicable if the court determines that an employer was guilty of discharging an employee for a discriminatory reason (employeeissues.com, At Will Employment). There are a number of federal laws that protect the employees against discrimination such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1991 (www.eeoc.gov, Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination Questions And Answers). The federal and state laws of the United States forbids employers or companies from discriminating against employees on the basis of their age, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability and physical handicap. The act of discrimination can take place as early as recruiting to discharging of employees (public.findlaw.com, Employee Discrimination). In the case of Elaine, there is a clear case of discrimination because she was just laid off her job without given a reason of termination.