Day 145 - 29 Jun 95 - Page 37
1 anecdotal evidence on the number of people that come back,
2 do you remember that?
3 A. Yes, it would be on my being in stores reviewing
4 files. I do not know if I got into all of that detail.
5
6 Q. Then when I asked you -- I have forgotten when it was now;
7 I think it was this morning -- some matter that was related
8 to anecdotal recollection -- I cannot remember what it was;
9 it might have been reasons for leaving or whatever -- you
10 said that your experience was each store is different, each
11 region is different, each person's individual experience is
12 different, therefore, you could not possibly give -----
13 A. It is really hard -- you are asking me to give you a
14 conclusion and I cannot often times because there is a
15 great deal of variation. There are 10,000 restaurants
16 throughout the United States.
17
18 Q. OK. We will leave that then. We are just checking. There
19 was one thing I wanted to clarify, Mr. Stein: You talked
20 about 12 years ago you said courts began to oppose the
21 rights of employers to end people's employment unless the
22 contract of employment was an at will contract.
23
24 MR. JUSTICE BELL: From what I understand of it, there was a
25 ruling I assume, of some superior court, or a series of
26 rulings, which left the law in a state where an employee's
27 employment could not be terminated without it amounting to
28 a breach of contract unless the contract had some provision
29 providing termination?
30 A. That is correct, my Lord.
31
32 MR. MORRIS: Yes, but, of course, employees could have their
33 employment ended if, presumably, for any number of reasons
34 that were acceptable to the court, for example, continued
35 lateness or -----
36 A. Generally, the standard that you are pushed to in the
37 US is showing just cause.
38
39 Q. You would have to show just cause?
40 A. That is correct. Generally, that is the standard
41 because they will allege, the employees will allege, things
42 that are protected under the law, and you need to show just
43 cause, otherwise it will be presumed it was for something
44 that is prohibited by law.
45
46 Q. So if employers want to terminate people's employment
47 unjustly, they can do so as long as they have an at will
48 part of their contract?
49 A. Non sequitur -- absolutely not. You cannot do that.
50
51 Q. Employees could leave before this at will contract?
52 Employees were able to leave, were they not, if they gave
53 notice or whatever?
54 A. They can leave -----
55
56 Q. They were not slave bound to their employment for the rest
57 of their lives, were they?
58 A. Before or after this employment at will, they can leave
59 at any time they want to for whatever reason they want to,
60 unless there is an express contract in writing saying, no,
