美国雇佣自由规则在判例法中的确立及启示

The Establishment of Employment At-Will Rule in U. S.Case Law and Its Enlightenment

在修改《劳动合同法》呼声愈演愈烈的背景下,不少学者将目光投向美国雇佣自由规则。在目前主要的工业化国家中,仅有美国适用雇佣自由规则,其私人部门中的雇主一般可随时以任何理由解雇雇员。19世纪中期前,不同州的法院或同一州不同系统的法院或适用一年雇佣规则,或适用劳动报酬规则,或适用雇佣自由规则处理劳动争议。19世纪末20世纪初,雇佣自由规则在判例法中得以确立,是学术理论、法律制度、经济制度、社会观念、工会因素、司法体制综合作用之结果。借鉴美国经验可知,我国不宜适用过于宽松的解雇保护制度,应继续将稳定劳动关系作为主要价值目标,并遵循"社会公共利益>职业稳定权>经营管理权"之法益保护位阶。

Along with increasingly appealing for amending Labor Contract Law,many scholars focus on U.S.employment at-will rule.U.S.is the only nation carrying out employment at-will rule in most industrialized countries,namely,in private sector employers can terminate employment for any reason at any time without causing any negative legal consequences.Before the 1950s,rules adopted by courts in different states or in the same state but belonging to different systems varied.Some courts applied annual hiring rule,some applied rate of pay rule and some adopted employment at-will rule to handle labor disputes.At the turn of the 20 th century,employment at-will rule has been established due to comprehensive reasons including academic theories,legal institutions,economic systems,social ideas,union elements and judicial bureaucracy.Based on American experience,it is arguable that unduly loose termination protection institution may not suit China.To improve termination protection institution,China should place stable employment relations as its main legal purpose and defer the following order:social public interests,employees'job security,and employers'management right.