From: mlee@esd.dl.nec.com (Michael Lee)
Subject: Re: Employee vs. Employer rights (was Re: What keeps me from being Lib.)
Organization: NEC America, Engineering & Support
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1992 22:29:17 GMT

From article <1992Apr10.152445.8551@m.cs.uiuc.edu>, by kadie@herodotus.cs.uiuc.edu (Carl M. Kadie):
> 
> The Libertarian Party's position on taxes is very attractive (e.g. I
> won't have to pay any). I find some of their other positions less
> attractive.
> 
> One position with which some may disagree concerns employee vs.
> employer rights.
> 
> Should it be legal or illegal for an employer to fire an employee because ...
>    the employee won't have sex with his or her boss?
>    the employee is African-American?
>    the employee is female?
>    the employee is Jewish?
>    the employee advocates a union?
>    the employee belongs to a union?
>    the employee smokes tobacco off the job 
>                       (and pays for his or her own insurance)?
>    the employee was put on a blacklist by another employer?
>    the employee is a registered Republican?
>    the employee writes a personal letter-to-the-editor 
>                       criticizing the President of the U.S.?

Should it be legal or illegal for you (an employee) to quit your job if:
    the employer won't have sex with his or her employee?
    the employer is African-American?
    the employer is female?
    the employer is Jewish?
    the employer advocates a union?
    the employer belongs to a union?
    the employer smokes tobacco off the job 
                       (and pays for his or her own insurance)?
    the employer was put on a blacklist by another employer?
    the employer is a registered Republican?
    the employer writes a personal letter-to-the-editor 
                       criticizing the President of the U.S.?
    the employer makes bombs for the military industrial complex?
    the employer is a pacifist and refuses to make bombs?

Suppose your employer's project is way behind and your quitting will
cause your employer to lose lots of money, fire all his other employees,
lose his house, become homeless, and cause his children get sick and die?

Shouldn't this be against "public policy"?

Shouldn't the govt. make you (the employee) keep working for this
employer because he needs you?

Should you be forced to continue to work for a person of another race (or
sex) because to quit would show that you were racist (or sexist)?


> If I understand the position of the LP (I'm sure someone will correct
> me if I'm wrong), because an employee and employer are free agents,
> none of these actions should be illegal. If an employee doesn't like
> an employer's work conditions, he or she is free to find work
> elsewhere.

You are correct, if there is no contract to the contrary.


> 
> - Carl
> --
> Carl Kadie -- kadie@cs.uiuc.edu -- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign


---------------------------------------------------------
I prefer a small government which may permit some evil to
a large government which promotes evil at my expense.
---------------------------------------------------------

Michael Lee
mlee@esd.dl.nec.com
214-518-3807
Xref: sparky talk.politics.misc:17718 alt.politics.elections:719 misc.taxes:2206 alt.society.civil-liberty:3365