"Sometimes the Road Less Traveled is Less Traveled for a Reason": The Need for Change in Georgia's Employment-at-Will Doctrine and Refusal to Adopt the Public Policy Exception

Authors

• Nancy Baumgarten, University of Georgia School of Law

Publication Date

2001

Abstract

This Note calls for the adoption of the public policy exception to the employment-at-will doctrine in the state of Georgia. Georgia employees need a viable claim at the state level since federal relief may not always be an option for a Georgia plaintiff. Furthermore, the adoption of this exception is directly in line with Georgia's policies in other areas of law. Finally, since it is the same employers who have placed Georgia in the bottom twenty-five percent of the nation for the highest rate of job discrimination that can terminate Georgia' employees for reasons which violate public policy, the need for this exception becomes even more apparent. It is important for Georgia to realize that it can take either the judicial or legislative route in adopting this exception. While judicial adoption seems highly improbable since Georgia's employment-at-will doctrine is codified, Georgia has strayed in the past from the notion that only the legislature can modify a statutory rule. If Georgia chooses to have the legislature enact a statute supporting his exception, then it has the great advantage of the models of many other states from which to gain valuable guidance and choose an appropriate statute to meet the state's needs.

Recommended Citation

Baumgarten, Nancy (2001) ""Sometimes the Road Less Traveled is Less Traveled for a Reason": The Need for Change in Georgia's Employment-at-Will Doctrine and Refusal to Adopt the Public Policy Exception," Georgia Law Review: Vol. 35: No. 3, Article 8.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/glr/vol35/iss3/8