Running head: CRITICAL THINKING 1

Woolley v. Hoffman-LaRoche, Inc.

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Institution

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CRITICAL THINKING 2

Woolley v. Hoffman-LaRoche, Inc.

The issue in the case is whether specific terms in the company’s employment manual

could be contractually binding to the company. The holding in the case in context is that with the

absence of a clear and prominent disclaimer, then the implied promise contained in the

company’s employment manual, that the employee will be fired from the company only for

cause may be deemed enforceable against the employer (Freedland et al., 2016). The condition

applies even if the employment term is indefinite and the employer can otherwise terminate the

employment at will. The argument advanced regarding the Woolley v. Hoffman-LaRoche case is

that if the company as the employer had made it mandatory for the employees to sign a

document citing that they had read and understood the terms stipulated in the manual of

employment, then the analysis of the case would change.

Woolley had been contracted by Hoffman without a documented employment contract,

but when he was subsequently fired, he sued for breach of contract. The terms of the contract

imply that Woolley could not be fired at will, rather only for cause, and only when the

procedures that had been outlined in the manual had been dully adhered to. As guided by the tort

law, the employment manual in context does not seem to fulfil the condition of being legally

binding on Woolley’s case, thus he could be terminated from his employment at the will of his

employer (Mayer et al., 2012). The employer had not made the employees sign a document

citing that they had read and understood the terms implied in the contract, thus the employment

at will provision would change in this case. The issue in the case is on whether the implied terms

in the company’s manual may be contractually binding to the employer. If the employee had read

and understood the provisions in the contract, then they would have had a better perception

regarding the job termination process.

CRITICAL THINKING 3

References

Freedland, M., Bogg, A., Cabrelli, D., Collins, H., Countouris, N., Davies, A. C. L., ... & Prassl,

J. (Eds.). (2016). The contract of employment. Oxford University Press.

Mayer, D., Warner, M., Siedel, G., and Lieberman, S. (2012). The law, sales and marketing.

Vol.10. Creative Commons.