Many of us have quit a job at some point in our lives – but how many have wondered if they had “just cause” to do so? Were you acting on a whim? Did your departure make life difficult for your employer? And did your desire to move on really outweigh the loss this meant for your boss?
Just cause can be a real problem for professional soccer players who want to change teams. Under the soccer transfer system created and operated by FIFA, the sport’s world governing body, players who quit without showing just cause – that is, who fail to show that their employer treated them in manner that is demonstrably unfair – can be subject to significant financial and disciplinary penalties.
But that could soon change. On Oct. 4, 2024, the European Court of Justice took a major step toward dismantling an employment system that placed undue burden on employees and, thankfully, was dispensed with for the rest of us long ago.
As a sports economist, I have written about this subject for several years now, and I know of no system outside of sports that restrains the rights of the employee to a comparable extent.
An object lesson for FIFA
The legal case is complicated, but the essence of it is that Lassana Diarra, a star player for Lokomotiv Moscow back in 2014, got into a dispute with the Russian club while under contract and quit. He then got a job offer from a Belgian club but was unable to take it because of the FIFA transfer regulations.
Many of us have quit a job at some point in our lives – but how many have wondered if they had “just cause” to do so? Were you acting on a whim? Did your departure make life difficult for your employer? And did your desire to move on really outweigh the loss this meant for your boss?
Just cause can be a real problem for professional soccer players who want to change teams. Under the soccer transfer system created and operated by FIFA, the sport’s world governing body, players who quit without showing just cause – that is, who fail to show that their employer treated them in manner that is demonstrably unfair – can be subject to significant financial and disciplinary penalties.
But that could soon change. On Oct. 4, 2024, the European Court of Justice took a major step toward dismantling an employment system that placed undue burden on employees and, thankfully, was dispensed with for the rest of us long ago.
As a sports economist, I have written about this subject for several years now, and I know of no system outside of sports that restrains the rights of the employee to a comparable extent.
A Florida man's lawsuit has temporarily stopped Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball from being sold after saying it was stolen from him moments after he secured it
A federal judge has tossed a lawsuit against Tennessee U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett over social media posts falsely accusing a man of being one of the shooters at the Kansas City Chiefs' 2024 Super Bowl victory rally