In the United States we are under at will employment in every state but Montana. Essentially, hire at will fire at will quit at will. This is not good for employees and I’d argue employers too. My proposal.
Mandatory contract employment for all non Independent contractor employment (Independent contractors must be entitled to their own hours & be paid per project/unit of work) Contracts would have set limits minimum of 12 months, maximum of 5 years. (exception for seasonal employment) The contract would be required to specify all policy rules, what hours they will work and regulations of the company, the starting pay, the frequency of raises and how much the raises are, the expectations to receive raises.
Employment courts would be set up where a fired employee would be allowed to appeal a firing in where the company would have to show cause, by showing a legal rule was broken and that there was consistent and equal enforcement. If found to have cause the employee forfeit unemployment insurance, if shown to not have cause the employer must either keep them employed with 1.5 backpay for days not worked or pay out their contract.
Conversely if an employee wants to quit they must show good cause (harassment, unequal treatment, breech of contract) or buy out said contract either directly or by monthly payments)
If either the employer or employee violates the law they can be held in criminal contempt and jailed until bailed (which will be paid to the other party) or stipulations met or contract would have naturally expired.
This imo would be far superior to the nonsense we have currently.
Your proposal merely takes the good and bad of at will and flips them both to “against will” for no net gain to either employers or employees. It’s the same problems as before, just inverted.
What were you thinking to yourself as you composed that last part about locking employees into a job at the threat of criminal liability? What made you think this was a pathway forward? You didn’t have to add that part.