In a clear rejection of the traditional U.S. principle of at-will employment, the City of New York (NYC) has enacted a pair of ordinances applicable to employers in the fast food industry, one prohibiting them from terminating employees without “just cause,” and the other requiring them to show a “bona fide economic reason” for laying off employees.
It isn’t clear whether this is a one-off occurrence or whether it represents the beginning of a concerted effort by worker advocacy groups to erode the at-will doctrine on a broader basis and in other jurisdictions. For now, Ordinances No. 1415-A and No. 1396-A are applicable only to fast food employers in New York City.
Ordinance No. 1415-A (just cause) and No. 1396-A (layoffs) are scheduled to go into effect on July 4, 2021, and essentially apply to fast food chains that have 30 or more establishments throughout the U.S. with locations in NYC.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.