The "at-will" rule in American law is defined as the right of a private sector employer to dismiss an employee without a contract for virtually any reason. The rule has thrived since the nineteenth century and is still a major factor in the employer-employee relationship. However, recent court decisions have fashioned common law…

As the baby-boom generation ages, fewer new workers will be available to fill jobs in U.S. companies. Many of the young workers who are available lack basic skills. Although the educational system must be reformed to remedy this problem, that will take time. Meanwhile, employers need other ways to maintain staffing and productivity. They could go…

The Commission on College Retirement was formed to review the role and functioning of college and university retirement programs and make recommendations for program improvements. This volume brings together five separate reports issued by the commission. "Retirement Ages for College and University Personnel" addresses the issues of…

Federal tax policy could affect employment policy through the following four provisions: the Targeted Jobs Tax Credit (TJTC), employment incentives in enterprise zone legislation, individual training accounts (ITAs), and employer reimbursement of employee educational expenses. The TJTC and enterprise zone proposals are both attempts to cause…

The types of merit pay increments and arguments for and against merit increments are reviewed, along with important variables a college should address when considering merit increments. The least common system at colleges and universities today is that of determining the entire faculty salary on the basis of merit. Most common at the university…

Procedures and rationales for teacher appraisal are examined. The target-output model calls for agreed-upon objectives to be compared with professional work. The performance criteria model compares professional work to agreed criteria of competencies. A diagnostic model of appraisal of teacher needs and potentials is joined with the others in a…

This document reports the oral and written testimony of five witnesses who addressed the accuracy, uses, abuses, and possible benefits of drug testing in the workplace at a Congressional hearing. The hearing was conducted to discuss H.R. 691, the Employee Drug Testing Protection Act, which would prohibit drug testing in the workplace except in…

This is a congressional hearing to examine S. 2687, the Youth Employment Opportunity Wage Act. (This bill would permit employers to pay youth a wage of 75 percent of the statutory minimum wage during the summer. The bill has a sunset provision.) Testimony includes statements from U.S. Senators and Representatives and from individuals representing…

Traces the origin of affirmative action from Reconstruction and the Fourteenth Amendment through the emergence in case law of legal definitions of quotas and the development of the modern concept of affirmative action. The current legal status of affirmative action employment programs, their effectiveness, and future prospects are commented upon.…

Arguing that hiring should be the product of a rational approach rather than a subjective one, describes a six-part hiring process: (1) basic people management; (2) organization policies; (3) preliminary "musts"; (4) the interview; (5) evaluation of findings; and (6) future uses. It can be used in any size or type organization. (CDD)

The rapid hiring and firing of college athletic coaches, the litigation brought in breach of employment contracts, and the special problems presented by coaching contracts have raised hard legal questions about proper methods of contract enforcement and recovery of damages. (MSE)

Offers practical suggestions as to how the academic dean in a college or university can provide opportunities to women and minority faculty, even given current fiscal conditions. Discusses: (1) the screening and search process; (2) strategies for recruiting faculty; (3) strategies for coping with retrenchment; and (4) other strategies which…

Reducing the tenure system inevitably involves costs to both employer and employee and especially affects the attraction of employment in the institution, including faculty mobility, institutional academic standing, and faculty goodwill. Long-term implications of such reform should be carefully weighed before changes are undertaken. (MSE)

Existing regulations, case law, and limited legislative history indicate that an institution can continue to employ faculty without tenure after age 65. However, once tenure is removed, the faculty member is entitled to all the protection of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. (MSE)

Nontenured faculty's claims to tenure as a property right, by virtue of common law principles, are examined from historical and litigation perspectives. The common law analysis proposed is applied to employment relationships in private and public institutions. (MSE)