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#8. Explain the concept of "Just Cause". How does the concept relate to "The Seven Tests of Just Cause?" (ULO 1)

One of the most critical areas of contract administration is employee discipline and discharge. "Just Cause" This standard of just or reasonable cause provides essential protections against arbitrary or unfair termination and other forms of inappropriate workplace discipline (Dietrich, 2017). Effectively, the employee has breached the employment contract by their actions, so their employer has the right to terminate the employee summarily. In a sharp departure from the employment-at-will doctrine, however- 90 percent of private-sector union contracts, and many public-sector ones as well, specify that employees can be disciplined and discharged only for "cause" or "just cause" (Budd, 2020, p. 327).

The "Just Cause" concept relates to the "Seven Tests of Just Cause" and is based on the right to a fair and impartial hearing and fair and unbiased treatment in all aspects of discipline. The seven tests of Just Cause were developed by labor arbitrator Carroll Daugherty. It's a uniform standard of behavior that applies to both employer and employee, but no agreement defines it because there are many types of industrial misconduct (Abrams & Nolan, 2015). That said, the seven tests provide a framework for thinking about the cause through the extent to which they are applied to specific cases, which varies from arbitrator to arbitrator (Budd, 2020, p. 328). The textbook also mentioned that regardless of the tests used to determine the cause, the major elements are a sensible reason, a fair investigation, reliable evidence, and appropriate discipline (Budd, 2020, p. 328). Applying these tests in a real-world scenario demonstrates practical utility, and each test serves as a checkpoint to ensure that the disciplinary action is justified and fair (McPherson, 2017). By systematically applying these tests, employers can uphold standards of fairness, protect employees from arbitrary treatment, and foster a balanced and equitable work environment.

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